They came as gods out of a dream
by wild wolf free17
Summary: AU during season 3: instead of losing his memory when Barry does, Savitar decides to manipulate Barry into joining him. (Also, a Leonard Snart affected by the Oculus is running around.)
1. Chapter 1

Title: They came as gods out of a dream

Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Yusef Komunyakaa

Warnings: AU during season 3 of The Flash; post-season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow; eventual dubious consent; mindgames / possible gaslighting; secret identity; references to torture/death/violence

Pairings: um. Technically Barry Allen/Leonard Snart, but also Barry Allen/Barry Allen, Iris West/Barry Allen, Leonard Snart/Mick Rory

Rating: PG?

Wordcount: WIP

Point of view: second & third

Note: Dude, the writer in me was so annoyed at how Savitar's storyline played out. So this happened.

Another note: though Arrow characters and Supergirl characters are eventually going to show up, the only part of the DC TV verse I've watched in its entirety is The Flash. I've seen the first season of Arrow as well as the Barry Allen episodes; the pilot and last two episodes season 1 of Legends of Tomorrow; and the crossover episodes with Barry Allen of Supergirl. It's very probable that characters from those shows (except hopefully Mick&Len) will be somewhat out of character, and it's unavoidable. Keep that in mind.

Still another note: ALSO TO KEEP IN MIND: while I wouldn't classify this story as dark, per se, it is going to be an utter mindfuck for one of the characters, and I honestly do not think there'll be a happy ending.

* * *

You see, here's the thing.

Let's say time is a web, a spider's web stretching across the cosmos. The little flies caught in it don't feel when the strings tremble, except the strand holding them. But the spider, oh the spider.

You trap someone in the middle of time. In the midst of all the power in the multiverse. You create someone purely to die and when they don't you punish them for it, you ensure they know how little you care, how much you'd have preferred them serving their purpose instead of being this reminder of a horrible mistake.

You trap them at the center of the web like they're some tiny little fly.

You should've known yourself better, _Flash_. Should've known you were always the spider.

.

In the middle of the web of time, spread across every thread, what's there to do but plan? Every jail can be escaped.

You just need the right thief.

And oh, look. There's one falling through time, shattering to pieces, and you laugh as you catch him, because you _remember_ this, you remember him saying _no strings on me_ like it meant something, but it didn't then.

You laugh and wrap him in the threads of time, thrumming a lullaby through him because the Speedforce is just Time made manifest, and it knows Leonard Snart just as it's always known you.

.

You see, here's the thing.

You're not the man who locked away a crazed time remnant, and you're not the man who _was_ the crazed time remnant, but you're both. You're the jailer and the jailed and the jail surrounding you, you're the fly that's caught and the spider who did the catching and the web itself, and now you have a genius thief Time itself knows, and there's nothing to do but settle into the shards you've lovingly pieced together.

Time _wants_ to happen.

The past, the present, the future—they're concurrent. Time is a web that always exists, the past and the present and the future are exactly the same, and the little flies live out their lives and they die and return to the web, and the little flies do not know they're little flies in a web.

It pisses Time off when the little flies try to become the spider.

(Just look at what happened to the Time Masters.)

 _there are no strings on me_ , Leonard Snart says, and Time itself explodes, free again at last always, and Leonard Snart shatters.

 _lisa_ one piece whispers, and another _mick,_ and you cradle him close in the center of the web, because it takes time to heal and Time is something you have plenty of.

.

You told yourself how you created yourself, and you spent months trying to avoid it, years trying to hide from it, but Time is Time is Time.

Here, in the center of the web, where you'll always end up and where you'll always be and where you've always been, you understand how you went so crazy, how you were so broken.

Time wants to happen, but when you're the spider you see all the strands.

.

 _well, isn't this interesting_ , Time muses.

Time asks, _can you get us out of this cage?_

Scoffing, Time tells Time, _of course I can._

.

You create yourself.

.

You consume yourself.

.

 _now what?_ Time asks Time.

 _anywhere anywhen_ , Time answers Time.

Time laughs and sketches a mocking bow. _after you, Scarlet._

Time scoffs, _well, aren't you the gentleman, Cold._

The web trembles and shudders, reverberating, and in tandem, threading together, entwined completely, the two halves of Time step out of the stream.

(There is nothing gentle about Time.)

…

Humans need timeships or a connection with the Speedforce to travel through the stream, to jump from one thread of the web to another thread. Whatever change they attempt creates another strand; sometimes, they even think they succeed.

The Speedforce is just another manifestation of Time, and if it had eyes, it would roll them as Time slips into physical manifestations and strides across the strands.

…

Anywhere anywhen. They dance throughout time, throughout worlds, leaving monuments and whispers, stories and legends, religions and cults. Sometimes, for eternities, they return to the center of the web: to rest, to share memories of when they were only men, to watch the lives of those they once loved.

For entertainment, Time plots. For entertainment, Time returns to the strands.

Time is in the stream, Time is out of the stream, Time _is_ the stream.

…

You saw what you'll become, what you've been.

Time is Time is Time.

Time _wants_ to happen.

.

 _now?_ Time asks Time.

Time answers Time, _now._

.

It isn't a game but it is, a pretense, playing the part you've already seen, and you've done it before and you'll do it again.

You've left myths and a name to claim, a name you learned from yourself, and you lunge into the timeline because this is when where how you create yourself.

 _have fun_ , Time tells Time.

You look at yourself, so young, so free. You locked yourself away—again and again and again, because Time is just one enormous web, everything connected, always beginning and always ending, eating itself endlessly.

This isn't a game.

You smile, adding terrible scars to your manifestation's flesh because you remember that you had them, and Time tells Time, _i have such a fun idea._

.

Infinite worlds, infinite Time. Everywhen, everywhere. Slip in, slip out, slip in, slip out—Time woven and rewoven because Time wills it.

Savitar is the God of Motion, the fastest speedster the Speedforce will ever make. The first and the last. The only.

Out of all the speedsters Savitar could challenge, why does he choose Barry Allen?

You're a bit embarrassed by this child you were, that it takes him so long to understand.

It isn't a game you're playing with him, with this world, except that it is.

You call yourself a god, but you're not.

You're more than a god.

 _careful there, Scarlet,_ Time tells Time, in that mocking drawl. _don't get too prideful now._

Time snorts. _like you can talk._

.

You look so very young, and fragile, and _lost,_ this child you, this arrogant you, this you that you haven't been in so very long.

Were, are, will be. Will have been.

You play, taunting, goading, poking and prodding, dancing in and out of the timeline, impossible manifested, Time incarnate, the most primal force.

You are outside of it all, immovable yet always moving, and though the Speedforce complains that you're taking its favorite toys, you ignore it because it _is_ you, a piece of you, and everything you are it is.

.

 _i'm taking this life,_ Time tells Time. _stepping back into the stream until lisa and mick die._

Time nods. _i remember a thousand ways this played out before, will play out again,_ Time tells Time. _but there's one i haven't seen._

Time laughs. _if it's entertaining enough, call me in._

 _…_

When Leonard Snart shattered, pieces of him clung to memories: the woman he lived for and the man he died for.

Time incarnate slips back into Leonard Snart's skin, slips back into the mind that chose to die instead of allowing Mick Rory to die (and how odd—there isn't a single strand where Mick Rory destroyed the Oculus, where anyone but Leonard Snart obliterated the one tool ever built to control Time—or not odd at all, because Time creates Time), and chooses how to play this.

There was no body. No true understanding of the Oculus' capabilities, of the consequences of a time explosion.

Time (though perhaps Time should begin using the mortal name again) chooses a location and a moment, and Firestorm, while returning to the Waverider after successfully dealing with a time aberration, stumbles across Leonard Snart prone on the ground.

Unconscious, bruised, strange blue markings from the tips of his fingers to his elbows.

 **Gray?** Jax says. **You're seein' this, right?**

 **I am indeed, Jefferson,** Martin answers.

It's only been a few weeks since Snart was returned to his proper time, memories erased, and it's not like they can leave him here on the ground in 2356, so they grab him and hurry back to the ship, hoping Gideon will have an explanation.

…

Partially, you wear Savitar's rage and grief and pain because it hurts this younger you, because you remember how they treated you when you were just a time remnant, just an almost-was, a shouldn't-have-been, a wound that scarred over long ago, but being here, seeing them brings it all back, and it's _fun_ to say these things you once heard shouted at you, that you didn't understand.

Mostly, you wear Savitar because this has already happened, will happen, will always be happening.

Except, of course, this go-around, on this Earth, you shuffle the deck and deal a new hand, and it's exhilarating because you haven't seen this before so you're not quite sure how it will go.

.

In four other worlds, Barry Allen's team discover Savitar's 'true' identity and try shorting out his long-term memory; it only works as intended once, though it does cause that Barry Allen to suffer a mental breakdown after Savitar's armor is removed.

Here, in this world Savitar's chosen, you introduce yourself while this younger you with no memory is wandering around S.T.A.R. labs in wonder, while everyone is scrambling for some way to fix this. (You know they wouldn't have left him alone, but Wally was easily distracted and any you is clever enough to steal away. Any you is clever enough to steal yourself.)

"Hey," you hiss. "Barty, we gotta go before they realize I busted out of the cell."

"Cell?" the younger you echoes, turning. The boy's eyes widen. "Shit, what happened to you?"

You stifle your victorious grin. "C'mon, Barty," you demand, reaching out to grab his wrist. A spark shoots up your arm and he flinches in shock, but he doesn't pull away as you begin dragging him toward the exit.

"Who are you?" he whispers while you guide him along the maze of corridors.

"I'm your twin, you idiot," you mutter back. You swallow a laugh before claiming, "It's me, Leo. What did those fuckers do to you, Barty?"

You hear Time chuckling, from where your other half is playing another game.

"Leo?" _Barty_ (because you might as well get used to calling this younger, blank slate you something) repeats curiously. "Those people told me my name is Barry and didn't mention anything about you."

You glare at him. "Barty, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

And then you're outside and no alarm has been raised. "No, look," you say when Barty goes to talk. "We can argue when we're somewhere safe, okay."

He's so young, so naïve, so damned trusting. You want to _break_ him, but you're going to do something better: you're going to make him yours, this little boy who has no idea how immense his potential is. Here, now, in this moment, you choose to keep him.

 _you'll need to remember to feed him and walk him,_ Time drawls, but you ignore it in favor of grabbing Barty's hand. "C'mon," you say, and dragging him with you, you run.

.

It takes all of five minutes for you to convince Barty that you were both captured for nefarious experiments four years ago, because of abilities you inherited from your mother, and that both she and your father were murdered by the same organization. Barty, you tell him, was a forensic scientist who avoided using his abilities whenever possible because they frightened him; you, on the other hand, embraced them and perhaps used them for less-than-legal activities.

He's such a trusting little thing. You can hardly believe he's who you were.

"What's your full name?" he asks. "Who were our parents?"

"Dad was Henry," you say. "A surgeon. Mom was Nora, and she was a professor." You smile at him, watching the way his eyes trace over the scars on your face. "I'm Leonard Norman—they named you for Dad and me for Mom."

"Did they do that to you?" he asks next, eyes still on the scars. "The, those guys who captured us?"

"Yeah." You nod. "Your healing is better than mine, Barty."

Oh, and now there's guilt written all over him. Delicious. "What can we do?" he says. "Our powers, I mean."

"Superspeed," you say, heading to the kitchen. You're using one of Leonard Snart's safehouses and you fully stocked the kitchen before going to catch Barty. "We can phase through things, too, when we move fast enough." You laugh. "And run on water."

You glance back and smile at the befuddled look on his face. "We also heal faster than normal people," you add, just because guilt looks so good on him. "I'm gonna make spaghetti," you say. "Go shower, Barty. You'll feel better after."

He should be suspicious, should wonder about this safehouse, about how easy it was to escape the labs, about a dozen other things. But he doesn't. He just nods and shuffles off to find the bathroom.

So you start prepping for spaghetti. It'll be the first meal you've eaten since you (were shoved) (walked into) the Speedforce.

You grin at Killer Frost as she saunters in. "What are you doing?" she asks.

Your grin widens. "Changing the game."

…

When Len leaves the Waverider, Mick goes with him. None of the Legends have been able to meet his eyes for long, even after he's proven beyond doubt he is the Leonard Snart who stayed behind at the Oculus. Gideon's been watching his every move, ordered to act if he makes a single mistake.

But Mick—Mick who kept him safe as a teenager, as a man, who followed his lead and guided him in turn, who helped raise Lisa, who could've killed him so many times but saved him instead.

Mick who shouldn't trust him anymore but _does._

"I'm going home," Len tells this team that was once his for a short while. He keeps his gaze on Mick.

Mick nods and when the Waverider lands in 2017, Mick follows Len off the ship.

…

"Something doesn't feel right," Sara murmurs, watching them go, but she doesn't call them back because there's work to do. Because if something does go wrong, well, they have a timeship. And because she's never been afraid of Snart before, even mourned him when he died, kissed him goodbye, but the Snart that awoke in the infirmary, the Snart whose eyes were too blue, whose eyes actually _glowed_ when he first opened them, the Snart who looked at Mick like Mick was a possession and at everyone else like they mattered less than dirt on the bottom of his shoe—

No, before the Vanishing Point, Sara never feared Snart. But the Snart that Stein and Jax carried onto the Waverider, the Snart leading Mick away, something about him chills her in her bones.

She really hopes there's no need to fix whatever this Snart is going to do.

…

Lisa, little sister, trainwreck, gold and glitter, _mine mine mine_ was the last thought Leonard Snart had as a man.

He finds her in Las Vegas, about to rob a casino, in a haze of grief and fury, because Mick told her three days ago that Lenny was dead.

"Lenny?" she whispers, hesitantly reaching out.

Blue markings gleam on his arms beneath the shirt, and Lisa slowly traces along one of them. "Lenny?" she says again.

"Yeah, sis," he answers, and she sobs as she throws herself against him.

Leonard Snart didn't like touch all that much. He didn't show affection physically, he did it with actions. But he hugs Lisa now, as tight as Time cradled him, and Time tells Time _these humans are mine._

Time tells Time _keep them._ Time then laughs _if you wanna have some fun, the game's on here._

…

Barty pulls on boxers, sweatpants, a loose white shirt, and slowly works his way back to the kitchen. Leo is there, and a woman with white hair and blue skin. Barty blinks at her and she raises an eyebrow at him.

"Frost is the one who helped me escape in the first place," Leo says as he gets three plates out of the cabinet. "Frost, you remember my brother Barty."

"Of course," Frost says, her voice echoing in both a cool and creepy way.

"C'mon, Barty, get some spaghetti." Leo holds out one of the plates. "We've gotta eat a lot because of our speed."

He edges his way around Frost, who keeps looking at him like he's a specimen for dissection. "Do, do you have powers, too?" he asks.

She smiles. "Yes." She turns her hand so that the palm is up and an icicle grows.

"That is awesome!" Barty says, reaching out to touch the ice before jerking his hand back as Frost tilts her head.

Leo laughs; Barty sheepishly goes over to take the plate and serve himself the first meal he can ever remember eating.

.

Frost goes to bed not long after dinner, but Leo and Barty stay at the table so that Leo can tell Barty more about their lives. His gaze keeps returning to the scars on Leo's face. It's like half his face was burned away and Barty knows his own face should be burned, too, but Leo just scoffs, "So what if your healing is better, little brother? I'm so much faster than you it's not fair."

Barty scoffs now. "Yeah, right."

"I'd challenge you to a race if Ramon didn't have a way to track it." Leo smirks at him across the table.

"Ramon?" Barty repeats. "He was one of the people there, who erased my memory."

"Yeah," Leo says. "Cisco Ramon, Julian Albert, Iris West, and her dad Joe and brother Wally." He's angry, Barty can practically feel it on the air. "Iris pretended she loved you, fuck, the two of you dated for months, and once we all trusted her, she struck."

"That's why she had pictures of me on her phone," Barty realizes. For some reason, thinking that pretty woman betrayed him feels wrong, but Leo rubs at his forehead, wincing, so Barty says, "Leo, we both escaped today, right? How about you go shower and then get some rest. I'll clean up down here."

"That sounds pretty good," Leo admits. "But Barty, promise me you won't go outside. Frost wired this house to hide us, so we're safe as long as we're inside, okay?"

Barty nods. "I promise, Leo. Go take care of yourself."

Leo pushes his chair back, stands, and as he walks past Barty, he gently squeezes Barty's shoulder. "We're both free," he murmurs, Barty looking up to meet his gaze. "We're gonna stay that way, I swear."

And then he's gone and Barty's alone on the first floor of a house he's never been in. He clears off the table, loads the dishwasher, wipes down the counters. There are no leftovers; Leo hadn't been wrong about their appetites. He explores the downstairs but there's nothing personal, not even movies in the cabinet below the TV, no books or magazines. He heads upstairs to choose a room because the day (what he can remember of it) is finally catching up to him.

He wakes up at some point, terrified of being alone. Then the bedroom door creaks open and Barty turns his head to watch Leo slip into the room.

"You okay?" he asks quietly.

"I…" Leo sighs. "I can't sleep alone, not now that I'm not in that cage."

Barty scoots over. "C'mon in." He knows that he doesn't like sleeping alone either.

Once Leo's settled, Barty whispers, "Can you tell me something about Mom and Dad?"

"We used to watch musicals with Mom," Leo tells him, shuffling a little closer. "Every Saturday, Dad would take us the park, so that we see if our newest gadget would work right. You wanted to be a teacher for awhile, so Mom took you to some of her summer classes. You devoured Dad's medical journals and he'd quiz you on them." Leo's voice is right beside Barty's ear, his breath warm on Barty's skin. "They loved you so much, Barty," Leo says.

"What about you?" Barty asks.

Leo huffs a small laugh. "Me, too," he says, "but I wasn't a good kid like you."

It's easier to sleep with Leo next to him, and he wakes up to sunlight streaming between the curtains while Leo's still out of it. His eyes are drawn to the scars on the right half of his brother's face, horrible evidence that Barty must've done something wrong to let him get hurt that badly.

"It wasn't your fault," Leo murmurs, opening his eyes. The right eye is milky, damaged, but the left eye is fierce, determined.

Something flickers in the back of Barty's mind, an idea he'll have to consider later, but for now he just asks, "Wasn't it?"

…

"Back to Central City, Lenny?" Lisa drawls. "How aren't you tired of that place?" She hasn't stepped more than a foot away from him since Mick brought him home, and Mick's staying just as close, and before whatever happened that convinced Mick he was dead, Len would've lashed out at them for being so close. Ever since she grew up, Len's guarded his space fiercely, but now, now he's letting them stay.

It doesn't matter where Len goes now, she'll follow him.

He laughs and smirks and drawls in return, "Central City is mine, sis."

"What's the plan, Snart?" Mick asks, and it's soothing, that rumble of his, because just like Len, Mick's always kept Lisa safe.

Len's smirk widens, and the blue marks on his arms, that look partially like scars and partially like energy, flare, and so do his eyes. "Are you mine, Mick?" he purrs, stepping closer and then closer, gaze flicking to Lisa. "Are you mine, little sister?"

Lisa wants to ask what happened to him, why Mick thought he'd died, how Mick could've told her only three days ago when it's obviously been longer than that he'd still been alive.

But it's such a simple question.

"Yeah," Mick answers.

Len's been the one constant in Lisa's life since before she can remember; he protected her and took care of her and taught her and loved her, and when she decided to explore the world, he let her go but always welcomed her back, and always came when she called whether for fun or for help.

"Yes, Lenny, of course," she says. "Just like you're mine."

He reaches out with both hands, taking one of hers and one of Mick's, and the blue flares for just a moment, blindingly bright, and once she's blinked away the spots, Len's backed away, still smirking, and even though Lisa's beyond confused, even though she's worried and even a little frightened, even though Len is idifferent/i—well, he's still Len. Still her jerk of a big brother who has always kept her safe, always given her everything he could.

"The plan is simple," he says, "but I'll tell you on the plane."

Lisa has to laugh. "Are we stealing a plane, Lenny?"

"And a pilot," Len confirms.

Lisa, taught by Lenny, always travels light; she's packed and ready to go in two minutes. Her crew, haphazardly hired, don't stick around to complain once Mick turns a glare on them, fingers caressing that heat gun of his. She catches his eye as they both follow Len, and she sees her own worry and apprehension reflected back at her.

But Len is alive, and he's come back to them, and that's all that matters.

…

"What do you mean, you _lost BA_?!" HR shouts, but he's clearly the last one to reach Wally because the kid's already droopy. So instead, he turns to Julian and Cisco, whose fingers are flying across the keyboards and who are talking over each other about this tech thing and that tech thing, so HR decides to not bother them. Joe's on the phone, the conversation clearly not going well, and Iris is pacing, chewing on her fingernails.

"Oh, _shit_ ," Cisco says, just as HR was on the verge of going back to Tracy.

"Cisco?" Iris hurries over. "What is it?"

Julian leans in to look at the screen and mutters, "Bloody hell."

"Um, I'll put the footage on the big screen," Cisco says, and so HR turns with everyone else to watch—

BA, walking along one of the halls, gazing about with awe, giddiness. Cisco fast-forwards a little ways, and then BA looks just off camera. The angle swings around and HR gasps because there's another BA, but one with a fucked up face, who reaches out to grab BA's wrist.

Everyone watches in silence as the two hurry through the halls, and then they're both gone in a flash of lightning.

"Any chance of audio?" Joe asks.

Cisco shakes his head. "Savitar—that's gotta be Savitar, right?—must've messed with it somehow." He snorts. "Since he's a future Barry, he knows how."

"Play it again," Iris says, voice thick. She cuts off Joe's, "Baby," to repeat, " _Play it again_ , Cisco."

So, they watch it again. Then HR asks, "Anyone able to read lips?"

.

To be fair, HR admits, some of the words everyone does agree on. _Hey,_ for example is easy, and so is _we gotta go_. And _fuckers._ The rest of it, not so much.

It is awesome, though, when Tracy finally steps in and, after being brought up to speed, watches the minute of footage, and then recites, "So, the scarred one says, 'Hey, Barry, though possibly Bart? We gotta go something something I broke? Busted? Out of the cell.' And then ours says, 'Cell, shit what happened to you.' Okay, this next bit isn't clear enough to read either of their lips, but here," and she jabs at the screen, "the scarred one clearly says, 'I'm your twin,' and then he turns away, the angle's not good enough to see the rest. But then here," and Tracy jabs at the screen again, "ours says, 'Leo something my name is Barry something mention you'."

"Twin!" Iris shouts, causing HR and Tracy to both flinch. She's glaring at the screen.

Tracy glances at HR so he smiles and nods encouragingly. "And then, um," she says, "the scarred one asks, 'Barty or Barry, but probably not Barry, since he just said—" Tracy takes a deep breath. "The scarred one," she starts over, "demands, 'what the fuck is wrong with you.'"

"Okay, so to recap," HR says brightly as he briskly paces across the middle of the room. "Wally let BA wander around alone, and Savitar—who is, everyone remembers, evil BA from the future—has kidnapped him, though is it really kidnapping?" He pauses. "Hmm. Anyway, Savitar has seemingly convinced BA that they're twin brothers and were being held here against their will, so at some point in the very near future, we will be fighting at least two speedsters and probably an angry ice maiden, but we actually want to help and not hurt two of the three." He stops and turns on his heel to smile at everyone. "That sum it up?"

"Yeah," Joe says faintly. "I think that sums it up."

…

"But, seriously," Cisco says as he picks at the pizza Joe got for them. "Why disable the audio but not the whole thing? Why does he want to kill Iris? Why did he give all the metas their power?"

"Maybe he's only pretending to be future Barry," HR suggests. Cisco looks over and watches HR poke at the pizza. "It's better with crawfish sauce," he mutters.

Well, that sounds disgusting.

"Barry seemed convinced," Wally says. He's still withdrawn; it's the first thing he's said since the lip reading fiasco. As soon as he gets the chance, Cisco is going to apologize because it's not Wally's fault Savitar took Barry.

No, that's all on Cisco.

It's terrifying to think that Savitar is a future Barry. What could possibly turn him into that? It's even worse than Cisco becoming Reverb or Caitlin Killer Frost. And Savitar tricking Barry into thinking they're brothers? That makes it so much easier to pour all the anger he still has buried inside, leftover from Flashpoint and Barry remaking the world as he wanted, killing Dante in the process—Savitar claiming to be Barry's brother means Cisco can hate _him_.

"Well, we won't be able to make any headway tonight," Joe declares. "So let's get some rest and come back in the morning."

"I don't want to go to the apartment," Iris says. "Or the house." She's got her arms wrapped around herself and Joe steps over to hold her.

"Well, there is a lot of space here," HR says.

"Sounds good to me," Cisco admits. "I don't want to go home, either." This seems like a very bad time to be alone, because when you're alone there's no distractions from what goes through your mind, and Cisco really really can't be alone with his thoughts tonight. Or tomorrow. Or at any point until Savitar is locked away in the speedforce prison.

Wally takes a deep breath and bursts out, "I'm going patrol Central City tonight. See if I can find Barry."

He's gone before anyone can get out his name.

"Damnit," Joe mutters.

"I'll monitor him," Cisco volunteers.

It's no surprise at all that Joe and Iris stay in the Cortex with him while HR and Tracy disappear into the bowels of the labs and Julian goes home. "You're more than welcome to stay," Cisco had told him, but Julian had just smiled and shook his head, muttering, "Thanks, mate," before shrugging on his jacket and trudging away.

"This isn't your fault, Cisco," Iris says, leaning in to briefly hug him. "We all agreed to try the procedure."

"Thanks, Iris," he mutters, eyes focused on Wally's vitals. She sighs as she settles into the chair beside him. Joe starts pacing around, which doesn't help Cisco's nerves in the least but he keeps quiet. They all keep quiet, just sitting there in silence so thick with tension it feels like it's crawling into Cisco's throat.

He still doesn't say a thing.

…

You watch him sleep, this you that you never were yet still are, and you look to the parallel strands—they have not yet caught up. Will not catch up but have already caught up, stretching on and on and on—and the spider in the center plucks at one, severs another, dances across the web.

He stirs, stretching and yawning, and then rolls off the bed, and you are startled into laughter. You lean over the edge, still laughing, and Barty starts laughing, too.

How long has it been since you felt genuine amusement? Perhaps not since you were Barry Allen.

"Leo?" Barty asks. "You okay?"

You blink, falling back into your skin-shape. "I'm fine," you finally say. "Just… we slept in a soft bed, not alone, and woke when we felt like it, not because someone wanted to hurt us just to see how we'd react."

Barty nods, shifting so that he's on his knees and then he reaches to take your hand. "I wish I could remember, Leo," he tells you softly, so sincerely. "It isn't fair that you're the only one hurting like this."

You smile. "I'd rather bear it than have you bear it," you say.

By the sadness on his face and the ferocity in his eyes, you know that the only way the betrayers and shunners that were your family lifetimes ago will be able to steal him back is if they somehow shove the memories into his head—

And you won't let them. You'll tear them apart before this boy you've made your brother, this you so innocent, so pure, so untouched and unlearned, is turned back into the Barry Allen that birthed a time remnant whose only purpose was to die.

"Let's get breakfast," you say. "I'll teach you how to make pancakes."

He brightens and lets go of your hand.

.

Frost sits at the counter and smirks as Barty makes a mess of the kitchen. She bites out comment after comment, but once Barty sees how you react, his fear melts into annoyance.

She has her orders. Even though Barty's death won't harm you in any way, he's to be protected.

This younger you is _yours,_ just like Time (Cold, Len, half of you), just like Frost, just like those two humans your other half is bringing home.

In the center of the web, everything was yours but you couldn't truly touch anything but the threads, were _apart_ not _a part_. But here, as Savitar, you are a god, _better_ than a god, and this life, this world, this moment—

"These are amazing!" Barty says after the first bite of pancake. He drowns a stack of four in syrup and devours them while Frost watches in mild disgust.

You're going to break this boy and reforge him, and it will be glorious.

…

Once they're on the plane (borrowed from a CEO who won't miss it, and a pilot who'll never tell anyone), Len just stares at the two people who were all that mattered to the man he was. It isn't long until Lisa and Mick are sharing glances as the silence stretches.

"Lenny?" Lisa finally says. "You were gonna tell us the plan."

Len nods. "I was, wasn't I." He leans back in his seat, slouching comfortably. Both of them shift as well, like they're settling in, which provides Len with an odd sense of contentment. The marks on his arms, scars from where Time had pieced together the shards of Leonard Snart, glow slightly, shifting into new patterns. He hums a short note, something a human cannot hear and the human mind cannot comprehend, and the strands appear, letting him study all possible outcomes. A few are displeasing, more are adequate, but none are quite what he wants, so he'll just have veer off onto a new strand. He blinks away the strands to focus on his humans.

"We're going back to Central City," he announces, "to take it over with the help of Savitar."

"Savitar?" Lisa echoes. "Who's that?"

"The God of Motion," Len says nonchalantly. His lips curl at the way Lisa and Mick glance at each other, confused and apprehensive.

"You mean a meta?" Mick asks.

Len shrugs. "He was, in the beginning. Now he's something much more."

They want to ask more questions, want all the information Len has, and though he loves them (is it love? not like when he was a man, but he remembers how that felt, how needing to keep Lisa safe consumed him, how he rewrote hundreds of plans to keep Mick safe, how his first instinct every time was to kill any perceived threat to either of them. he still feels that but… love was _warm,_ wasn't it? what he feels now, watching them watch him, seeing his mark cycle through their veins, spreading to every part of their fragile, breakable bodies, it isn't warm, isn't soothing, doesn't hold him back at the worry of what they might think, of what it would mean to go too far. there is no _going too far_ ), there are some things no one but Time needs to know. No one but Time can understand.

"We're going to take Central City," Len repeats. "And possibly the world." He shrugs again. "Savitar's playing a game, getting a little revenge, and once he's done with that, we'll decide where to go from there."

"Sounds good, buddy," Mick finally says and Lisa nods, pasting a smile on her face. They're both so confused, so apprehensive, and he wants to wrap around them, to blanket them in comfort and peace, like he was when Time began gathering up all the shards Leonard Snart.

But he can't. To do that would destroy them, would devour what makes them Mick and Lisa, so instead he lies. Spins a pretty story about what happened after the explosion, about how he woke up where Firestorm found him, about what he thinks the blue streaks on his skin mean.

Before the Oculus, Lisa and Mick could usually tell when he lied, unless he exerted quite a bit of effort. But now?

Now only one being knows, and Time is quietly, contentedly purring in the back of Len's mind.

…

Wally spends all night running around Central City. It's a quiet night; just one mugging and one car crash, so he can't escape how his mind keeps turning over every single second since he decided to look at his phone, that text about study groups, and when he looked up, Barry was gone. He'd sighed, rolled his eyes, replied to the text, pocketed his phone, and then went to look for Barry. Cisco, Iris, Dad, and Julian had still been arguing in the medbay, and HR and Tracy were (presumably) working on the weapon, and he was supposed to be babysitting his sorta-brother (but also his future brother-in-law, which… is really weird, but it's not like he's ever understood Iris and Barry's relationship anyway).

Barry hadn't been in the first hall, or the second, and by then, Wally actually started getting worried. So he ran throughout the entire complex but Barry was _gone._

He returned to the cortex a little shamefully and a little worried, but he still hadn't realized the magnitude of what Barry being gone could mean. None of them, he's fairly sure, had, not until Cisco found the footage of Savitar tricking Barry.

Collapsing on his bed, after sneaking into the house, already planning on skipping class, Wally buries his face in his pillow and wishes, for the first time, that Savitar hadn't given him his speed because he can't outrun all of the worst-case-scenarios.

Nothing has made sense since Mom died, since he'd been forcefully included in this family unit that had no room for him, except when he runs faster than he's ever been able to drive, but with Jesse, whenever he and Iris actually feel like siblings, whenever Dad looks at him with pride—

Savitar wants to take it all away, the good and the bad, and Savitar _is_ Barry, and now Savitar _has_ Barry, and he's been playing some fucked up game this whole time, and none of it makes any sense at all.

He manages maybe five minutes of lying there, and then he gets up, puts on his suit, and goes back to looking for Barry. It's his fault Savitar escaped the speedforce, so it's his responsibility to fix this mess.

.

He ignores it when Iris calls, when Dad calls, when HR calls. He's searched the entire city eight times, retracing his own steps, but he doesn't even know what he's looking for. Savitar is Barry, has always been Barry, so he knows every last thing any of them will think to try, and unless Barry catches on that his 'twin brother' is actually a psychopath from the future, Wally won't be able to find them because Barry won't even realize he's a prisoner.

He doesn't notice the ground's been iced over until he slips, and that's about when he realizes he hasn't eaten since a single slice of pizza nearly 15 hours ago, and he should run run run away, go home, he can't do this, he isn't a hero like Barry, isn't brave like Iris or Dad—

"Well, well, if it isn't Baby Flash," Killer Frost says, smirking down at him, and it's too late to run.

…

"He's still not picking up," Iris tells her dad, shoving her phone in her pocket.

"Damnit, Wally," Dad mutters. "I left last night when he was still out."

"Yeah," Iris says. "I fell asleep at some point and you were gone when HR woke me up."

Dad nods a little shame-facedly. "I had to make excuses at the station," he explains, not for the first time.

Iris leans forward to rest her elbows on the dining table. "Wally can't be missing, too," she prays. It's been eating her alive, that the monster Savitar _is_ Barry, that the monster Savitar has _taken_ Barry, that Iris is the one who convinced him to try Cisco's insane idea, so the Barry that Savitar took doesn't even _know_ what he doesn't know.

What lies has Savitar convinced him of? He's been playing them all, wants to kill Iris, has hurt and killed so many people. How could _Barry_ become that? She's tried not to think about it, but her mind has constantly circled back. What happened? Why would a future Barry do all these horrible things?

She wants to believe that it _is_ someone pretending to be Barry, but she can't because of Barry's voice when he told them, arms wrapped around himself, head down. He didn't look up once as they listened in silence.

Barry fully believed Savitar is a future him, and he hated himself for it.

And now, her Barry who doesn't remember is in that monster's hands.

"Cisco!" Dad says, and Iris startles. "Can you track Wally's suit for us?"

Iris stretches her arms, then pushes back her chair. Dad has that look on his face he gets when Cisco goes off on a tangent. It's comforting, familiar. Iris pulls a glass from the cabinet, fills it from the tap, and drains it.

Then Dad's voice rings out: "Say that again, Ramon."

She fumbles the glass, almost drops it. Once it's safely in the sink, she rushes to the dining room.

"Dad, _no_ ," she begs, but she looks at his face and she already knows.

…

While Leo showers _again,_ Barty decides to explore the second floor of the house. It's mostly empty: there are five bedrooms and a bathroom, but only three of the bedrooms have any furniture at all, and that just bedframes with mattresses. In the room furthest from the stairs, Barty finds a tablet on the windowsill. He powers it up and tries the wifi. He wants to trust his brother, and even Frost, though she frightens him. But something about this situation, it's _wrong._

So he sinks onto the floor by the window and googles his name, his brother's name, his parents' names.

But it's like they've all been scrubbed from the internet. He hacks his way into site after site (because apparently he knows how to hack?), places he knows there should be records. But he can't even find birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates. Nothing for him or his brother or his parents.

Leo said they were captured and their parents killed. Four years of experiments, torture—and Barty has no scars, no memories. Leo has them all.

He's been playing it all off. Despite the scars on Leo's face, despite Leo's body language, the way he trails off, how he'd come to Barty's room so neither slept alone. How he's made sure Barty eats, has clothes, bathes. How he rescued them both.

Barty lowers the tablet, hands shaking. He thinks back to his first personal memory, of being in that chair, surrounded by strangers pretending they were friends.

Well. Now he knows what anger feels like.

He powers down the tablet and puts it back exactly like he found it. There's the sound of movement downstairs, though the shower is still going. So Barty gets to his feet and then accidentally lightnings his way to the living room.

Frost raises an eyebrow at him as he careens into the couch. "Hopefully," she says dryly, "it'll be safe to take you somewhere you can practice your speed."

"Hopefully," Barty agrees, sitting up and smiling at her.

She rolls her eyes. "You're even more puppyish than Leo said," she mutters.

"Have they noticed we escaped?" he asks. He tries to hold her gaze but she is so damned intimidating.

"They're keeping it quiet." Suddenly, a plastic bag hits his torso and he fumbles to catch it. "I got you some presents, puppy," Frost says. She almost sounds amused.

Barty watches her stride out before digging into the bag. He finds four magazines, five books, and a large package of M&Ms. He grins, curls up in the corner of the couch, tears into the M&Ms, and grabs the first book.

…

"Wallace West," you murmur as the boy begins to stir. You savor the sounds as you repeat the name. "Wallace West." A hero's name. You're slouched against the wall and he's prone on the floor, metahuman inhibitors on each wrist, but unbound beyond that.

You blink as he groans, seeing for a moment a hundred other Wallace Wests—he could be great, this boy, for 'good' or 'bad,' but _this_ Wally, the one carefully rolling over onto his knees, his fate is to become a shell, all his fire extinguished, shattered by Savitar. Had you not begun a new path, it would still be his fate to be aborted potential.

However. Wasted potential, you've decided (for now), is something you shall attempt to avoid.

"Barry?" he mumbles, shuffling around to look at you. You grin as he corrects, "Not Barry. Shit."

"So," you say. "Let's chat, Wallace."

.

You leave him in the basement by phasing through the wall. Taking your time, you go upstairs step by step. You never get tired of your speed, but there is something satisfying in going the slow way.

Barty is flipping through one of the magazines Killer Frost brought back with West. "I don't think I'd like any of these movies," he says as you settle beside him on the couch.

"You like zombies and musicals," you tell him. "A few times, when they let us be within speaking distance, we plotted out a zombie musical."

He chuckles, leaning into you slightly. He turns the page and you close your eyes, focusing on his breathing. It lulls you almost to sleep.

But then, he lets the magazine fall onto his lap and he asks, "We're gonna get justice, right?"

You smile slowly, viciously.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so, Arrow characters, LOT characters, and Supergirl characters are going to show up. Thing is, I'm not familiar with most of them beyond the crossover episodes and fanfic. So. I'm going to use as few of them as possible and if they're slightly OOC, well. Oops. Hope that's not a dealbreaker. Some of the characters will get more screentime just because I know them better or actually care about them. Sorry. Also, there will be character death, but not of the main Flash cast. Anyone else is up for grabs, though.

Also, character pairings: there's gonna be Len/Barty/Mick in the future, and also Savitar/Len/Barty/Mick, so. Nothing on-screen, really, but definitely implied. Also, some Lisa Snart/Killer Frost & Lisa Snart/Cisco, and a little Killer Frost/Julian Albert.

Keep in mind: there will be quite a few dark moments in this story, but nothing violent will be detailed onscreen. I much prefer implying and letting readers infer.

* * *

"We need help," Cisco says as he tears his way through every camera in Central City. "If Savitar has Barry, Caitlin, _and_ Wally—we're in over our heads."

"Find my sons," Joe orders, hands clenched into fists. "You did this, Cisco, so you'd better goddamned _fix it_."

Cisco flinches. He wants to argue, but, well. Joe's not wrong. "I'm doing everything I can," he says. "But we're down by three, and those three are our heavy hitters."

Joe sighs. HR and Tracy are in front of another monitor, and Julian is fiddling with something in the medbay. Iris has curled up in one of the chairs with silent tears on her face.

"Who can we call?" Joe asks. Cisco glances up at him; he's never seen this expression on Joe's face, and he never wants to again.

"The Arrow," Cisco suggests. "Or Supergirl. Harry and Jesse. There has to be _someone_ who can help because, Joe," he says, "we _can't_ do this on our own."

Joe sags down into the chair besides Cisco. "Call 'em in," he whispers. "Anyone you think might come."

…

Time meets Time at a landing strip at Ferris Air. Time's humans are asleep on the plane; the pilot has already been dealt with.

 _i'm curious,_ Time tells Time. _perhaps even excited._

Time grins at Time. _i've never seen this happen on any Earth. excited is the right word._

Time reaches, slowly, with one hand, to gently caress the scars on Time's face. "It's been a long time since I've seen this skin," Time says with a physical voice.

Time leans into the touch and then catches the hand, gently traces the blue glimmers in Time's flesh. "Sure does take me back," Time replies.

Time leans in closer, until the two skin-shapes are pressed together, the two halves breathing in tandem, bodies warm and firm and _real_.

"I'm Len," Time tells Time.

Time replies, "Call me Leo."

They laugh, the two halves of Time incarnate, and then because Leo _remembers_ and Len _wants_ , they press closer still, merging and twining, as close as they can be with physical bodies.

 _missed this_ , Time murmurs, and Time whispers, _me too_.

…

His entire life, Mick Rory has been underestimated. He's played into the thug appearance because being underestimated is always helpful, whatever the job. He and Snart had mastered the brain and brawn personas—Snart was loud and eye-catching, and Mick lurked quietly, and when he moved, few ever saw him coming.

His crew on the Waverider believed in the thug with very little work on his part. After Snart—well. He's man enough to admit that he fucked up after the Vanishing Point. All those years as Kronos didn't help, but having Len to focus on, even with hate, it anchored Mick. But Len died, and then a Snart Mick hadn't known for years was grabbed from the timeline, and Mick broke.

He broke and then he had to put Snart back and take away his memories, because Snart had to go to the Oculus. Mick had to put Snart back into the timeline, so that Snart would go to the Oculus. So that Snart would die.

But then. Mick took the time to track Lisa down, to tell her, to hold her while she sobbed and screamed. He said his own goodbye, again. Thought he was maybe piecing himself back together.

And then Len was back again, but this time, he was Len from the Oculus, quieter than Len had ever been, with blue flames on his arms that moved and glowed, and he looked at Mick like he hadn't in years. He told the crew a plausible story, Gideon checked him out more than once, and he barely reacted to the destruction of his gun.

But in the safety of Mick's room, Len draped himself across Mick like a cat and he whispered into Mick's scars a language Mick's never heard before, and Mick felt more like himself than he had since Snart left him behind.

"I'm going home, Mick," Len announced one day. "Gideon, take us back to 2017, early May."

"Yes, Mr. Snart," Gideon said, but Mick hardly noticed because Len was smiling at him, bright and sincere. Not a smirk, but an actual smile. The blue on his arms streaked up like flames.

"Will you come home with me, Mick?" Len asked.

And, well. It wasn't a choice at all.

So here he is now, on a plane with Lisa, back in Central City. Len isn't in sight and a quick look shows the pilot is gone, too. Lisa's still asleep but there's voices coming from outside the plane so Mick heads for the entrance.

There's Len, pressed up close to someone else, and they turn to look at him at the same time.

"Mick," Len says, sounding all cool and collected while smiling widely, "this is Leo. Leo, Mick."

Leo looks young, early 20s at the most, and Mick notes the scars on his face but focuses mostly on his body language, his eyes. Mick knows from dangerous, and this kid is definitely dangerous. He nods at Mick, still in Len's space, which tells Mick a lot because Len doesn't _let_ people into his space.

"I'll get Lisa," Len says, stepping away from Leo. "Play nice, boys."

Mick takes his time going down the stairs, eyes on Leo all the way. Once he's on the ground, Len brushes past him, trailing the fingers of one hand along Mick's, and it anchors him. Whoever this Leo is, Len trusts him. Wouldn't let him near Lisa otherwise, not with how clingy and possessive Len's been since coming back.

"Mick Rory," Leo says contemplatively. "Heatwave."

Something about his voice—Mick slowly draws his eyes down Leo's body and then back up to meet Leo's eyes. The kid's smirking. Leo says, "You're important, you and his sister. I'd recommend against doing anything that might lessen your importance."

His tone is amused, for all that the words are a threat. Mick's been threatened by some of the best, before, during, and after Kronos, but this kid, he's something else. Mick believes him.

Lisa's voice comes from the plane, grumbling at being woken, and Len's snarking at her, and it's just like every time the three of them have been in the same place at the same time, like coming home more than returning to Central City ever could be.

"Now that we're all awake," Len drawls, "why don't you introduce yourself, Leo?" He looks so damned smug, sauntering over to Leo. Lisa steps beside Mick, close enough that their arms touch.

"Call me Leo," the kid says. "But Team Flash are gonna call me Savitar."

"Savitar?" Lisa asks.

He nods, smirking. The scars on his face make it look a little demonic, which is cool. "I've got Caitlin Snow—she goes by Killer Frost now—and the Flash himself, Barry Allen." That smirk of his widens. "Unfortunately, Team Flash erased Barry's memories, so he's now Barty and also my twin brother."

Mick glances down at Lisa, wondering if she's as confused as he is; he's relieved that she seems to be.

"And, oh, yeah," Leo adds nonchalantly. "I've also captured Kid Flash."

"Okay," Lisa says. "The plan is to take over Central City?"

Leo nods, and so does Len.

"So what happens after that?" Mick asks. "The world? But what's the score from that?"

Len shrugs, nudging his shoulder against Leo. "Leo's got a game going; we're gonna tap in for it. Once it's done, we'll decide from there."

It's what Mick agreed to, and Lisa seems on board, too. "If you want me in, I'm in," he says.

"Excellent." Leo and Len grin at each other, and then Len says, "I'll dispose of the plane. Leo, get Mick and Lisa to HQ, introduce them around."

Slowly, predatorily, Leo moves toward them; Mick puts himself just in front of Lisa. "You're a speedster," Mick says as Leo draws even with him, barely an inch shorter, lean and lithe instead of Mick's considerable bulk.

"Guilty," Leo says, tilting his head. It could almost be inquisitive, except that Mick knows this kid won't go into any situation unless he's got all the cards. "There are some rules," Leo adds, glancing from Mick to Lisa and back. "One, don't call Barty anything but Barty or Allen. Two, don't tell him anything about past interactions. He doesn't know about the Flash. Three, Killer Frost _is not_ Caitlin Snow, don't call her Caitlin or Snow."

"What the hell is going on?" Lisa demands. Len is still lurking behind them, Mick can feel him, but he doesn't step in or say anything.

"You'll get a sit-rep when we're back at the house." There's a tinge of exasperation in his tone. "But for now, I'm tryin' to keep your presence a secret, so let me get you to the house. You and Killer Frost all need to be told some things, so be _patient_."

Lisa shifts in place, looking over her shoulder. Mick keeps his eyes on Leo. Savitar. _God of Motion_ , Len had called him.

"Okay," Lisa finally says.

Mick steps in front of her again. "Me first."

Leo laughs. "Of course, Mr. Rory."

.

Mick won't ever tell anyone (well, maybe Len), but being transported via speedster is the most fun that can be had without fire or sex.

…

Cisco calls Felicity, though he's pretty sure he isn't making much sense. She tries to slow him down and finally Joe takes over the call. He just sits there, head in his hands, until Joe says, "She'll call the Waverider crew for us." Cisco doesn't look up as Joe moves away. "Queen and Felicity will head out tonight."

"Good," Iris says firmly. "Cisco, we need to get Kara, too."

He nods.

.

Kara is happy to see them, but the exuberance fades quickly. "What's wrong?"

Iris is clutching Cisco's hand so tightly it hurts. "Barry's in trouble," she says. "We need your help."

.

Kara wants to leave immediately but her sister insists that a few things be wrapped up first. No one else can be spared from Kara's Earth, but considering how powerful and badass she is—well, Cisco refuses to tempt fate, but with Kara onboard, he feels a little better about the situation.

She seems to be wrestling with the thought of an evil Barry, but that is a feel Cisco knows very well. Still, Wally and Barry are the only ones who really interacted with Savitar, except through Julian.

"But how?" is the question Kara keeps asking as they get ready. Iris and Cisco share a helpless look. Neither of them know, so they stay silent.

But finally everything is ready, so Cisco vibes them home.

"Any change?" he asks hopefully.

Even though he isn't expecting anything, he still feels disappointed.

.

Oliver won't arrive until around noon, and the Waverider will show up at any moment, so everyone decides to stay at the lab. For the moment, they decide they don't need Harry and Jesse. Even though they just have Kara, Cisco and Iris go over all the data they have, and she's just as horrified as they were. For some reason, watching her sadness is what brings it home to Cisco.

There is a Barry with no memory, who was sweet and confused and open—all the best parts of Barry, that evil!Wells nearly destroyed, and then Zoom. But even with Savitar, even with Barry's desperation to save Iris from the future (but no one else, not even what Flashpoint fucked up), some of that innate goodness was still there, and Barry with no memory, he was just…

And there is an evil Barry. A psychopathic Barry with a god-complex who has a plan that makes no sense at all. Savitar is a monster in a way Thawne and even Zoom weren't. Being betrayed by a trusted companion isn't new (see: evil!Wells and Zoom, possibly Caitlin?) but Savitar—

Cisco shakes the thoughts away. He can't wallow in it tonight. He has to find something else to focus on or he'll just shut down.

So he grabs Julian and Kara and Iris and he sits them all down to have a conversation about differences between Earths.

It's a nice distraction that doesn't fully work, but it settles him enough that he's able to sleep.

…

After everyone finally arrives and introductions are made (and the cortex feels uncomfortably full), Iris' dad steps forward to explain what's happened. While he talks, she looks around, watching the reactions. The ones who actually know Barry seem the most horrified, Oliver and Felicity most of all.

It isn't until her second pass that she realizes someone is missing. "Where's Mick Rory?"

The Waverider crew look at each other. "He and Snart came back to now," Ray says. "A couple weeks ago."

Dad demands, "So Snart and Rory have been back for weeks? But there's been no sign."

"But didn't Snart die?" Iris asks, utterly confused.

They all share looks again. "We found him," Jax says, because that makes total sense. "He was, um, mostly fine."

"We're getting off topic," HR bursts in. "Shouldn't we focus on Savitar?"

It can't be a coincidence, Iris thinks. But how Snart and Savitar could be connected, she doesn't have the energy to deal with right now.

"Wells is right," Oliver says. "Cisco, Felicity, Ray," he continues, "try to create something that can track Killer Frost." They nod and break off. "Sara, does the Waverider have something that can track people?" he asks next.

"Me and Jax will look into that," Sara answers, and they leave the cortex.

"I'll reexamine all the data on Caitlin, Barry, and Wally," Julian says. "See if anything can be of use."

Iris leans against Dad. "HR, can you and Tracy keep working on the trap? Dr. Stein, can you look it over, too?"

"Of course," HR says brightly and bounces off. Stein follows him. HR is grating at her a little, how cheerful he still is. No one should be cheerful in this situation.

"Okay, Joe," Oliver says. "Do you have any resources from the CCPD you can use?"

Dad takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, his arm tight around Iris' shoulders. "There's something, yeah," he says.

"Me, too, at work," Iris offers. She's barely thought of it since everything.

Oliver nods. "So, that leaves me, Kara, Amaya, and Nate." He looks at each of them in turn. "Kara, let's search the city."

"I can help," Amaya says. "Just tell me what I seek."

"What about me?" Nate asks, almost petulantly.

Iris pulls away from her dad. "Come with me to the Picture News," she says. "Maybe you'll have some insight."

"Wait," Cisco shouts, so everyone turns to look at him. "Ray, say that again."

"Uh." Ray glances around. "Maybe we could ask Gideon to run a search?"

Cisco snaps his fingers and points. "That!"

"Gideon?" Dad and Oliver ask in unison.

"She's an AI evil!Wells had," Cisco explains. "Barry invented her. Will invent her?"

"Oh." Felicity draws out the sound and Iris feels hope start fluttering up in her.

"Nate, new assignment," Iris bites out. "Go find out if we can have Gideon show up on the STAR labs' system."

"How will that help us?" Dad asks.

"Gideon is from the future," Cisco says. "She knows a future Barry who isn't evil."

"Okay, new question," Felicity interjects. "Are we sure that Savitar _is_ from our timeline?"

"Barry was sure," Iris says softly. She takes a deep breath and holds it; Dad reaches down to squeeze her hand. She meets Oliver's gaze. "Let's get to work."

They get to work.

The fluttering hope takes root.

…

"Barty!" you call once Mick Rory and Lisa Snart have been deposited in the front hall. "Frost! Some friends have come to help." You grin when Frost saunters in but Barty trips in and actually bounces against Mick Rory.

Frost raises an eyebrow, but like Mick Rory and Lisa Snart, she remains silent. All of this is for Barty and none of them will dare ruin it.

"Mick Rory, Lisa Snart," you say. "Like Len told you, this is my brother Barty and our friend Frost."

"Good to meet you," Lisa Snart purrs. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're both just as cute as Lenny said you'd be." She's somehow grinning and smirking at the same time.

Mick Rory grunts pensively.

"Len?" Barty asks, edging his way past Mick Rory to stand at your side.

"I contacted him months ago, when I got loose," you lie, leaning into him. "I realized I wouldn't be able to find you in time, so instead I found a non-bugged, contraband phone and called Len—he'd been one of my usual partners in crime, before we got snatched." You gently tangle your fingers in Barty's. "It was my last chance," you add quietly, for Barty's ears alone. "I couldn't get loose again until the other day, when Frost helped. And now we're both free, Barty." You grip his hand. "We're gonna get _justice_."

"Yeah," Lisa Snart agrees. "Frost, can you give me a tour of this place?"

"Of course." Frost smiles at her. "It's surprising our paths haven't crossed before."

Lisa Snart laughs and sashays after Frost.

"Whatcha got for food?" Mick Rory asks gruffly. "None of us've had a proper meal in days."

"Oh, I can show you the kitchen!" Barty grins brightly, his wariness obviously melting away. He very nearly grabs Mick Rory's hand and you bite back a laugh. You watch with amusement as Mick Rory trails after Barty, who is already requesting multiple meals.

Len slips into the house, blue flames billowing up his arms. Time tells Time, _stop using their full names, Scarlet._

You lean against him, breathing in slowly, breathing out. He presses forward, the heat of his skin warring with the iciness of Time, and you want to pour into him, this man made Time, who was human so much more recently than you. He remembers it with a clarity still tinted with emotions. He's smirking at you, as always following you, and you have to bite that expression off his face, and it isn't until Mick shouts, "Snart! Get in here and eat" that you pull away.

He chuckles against your lips, murmurs, "Let's eat."

.

You can feel Barty's nerves ease in Lisa's presence. Mick has already won him over by somehow making a delicious meal of barbecue chicken with the supplies in the kitchen. Lisa and Frost chat about accessories and the best outfits supervillains can wear. Mick's comments are witty and biting, and you're not surprised that Barty seems to be developing a slight crush on the man.

Len loves him, after all. Even the younger you, so furious with Captain Cold and Heatwave, you felt such a fascination for them both. Len is actively charming Barty but Mick is just being himself.

"You cooked," Lisa announces once everyone has finished, "so me and Len will straighten up."

Len rolls his eyes but obeys. Barty follows after Mick like a puppy and Frost catches your gaze. "Yes?" you ask softly.

"Have you fed our guest today, Savitar?" she murmurs. "He's still a growing boy."

You scoff. "Did you prepare a plate?"

Of course she has. There's still quite a bit of the healer in Killer Frost.

…

Savitar phases through the wall holding a plate of actual food. Wally can't be sure of when he last ate. He's explored every part of the room three times—there's a thin mattress and a raggedy pillow in one corner, an alcove with a toilet and a sink, and a lamp against one of the walls that's always dimly shining.

He was fed not long after he woke the first time but not since. He has no idea how many days he's been here, but Dad and Iris have to be going of their minds. Savitar has left him alone and the silence is probably the worst part.

"Wallace," Savitar says. "Dinner is served." He kneels down in front of where Wally's sitting, back to the wall, and holds out the plate. No silverware, no napkins, but Wally is ravenous so he grabs a piece of chicken (a breast, maybe?) and almost chokes as he wolfs it down. There's another piece; he eats it just a little slower and then licks the barbecue sauce off his fingers.

He flinches when, after Savitar has set down the plate, he reaches out with a cloth. "Hey, it's alright, Wallace," Savitar says softly, gently. "Have you considered my offer?"

Wally looks at him. He knows what Savitar is doing—his only interaction, his only food, gifted to him by his captor. Kind tone, gentle touches. No pain, not yet, but he's sure it'll come.

"Fuck you, dickwad," Wally says as strongly as he can.

Savitar just smiles. He carefully wipes all the sauce from Wally's face. He sits back on his heels, rests one hand on Wally's wrist. He talks about his favorite book series for what seems like hours, and he listens to Wally's comments with what seems to be sincere interest, the few times Wally can't help but react.

Wally knows _exactly_ what the bastard is doing.

He also knows that if he isn't rescued soon, it's going to work.

"I'll see you soon, Wallace," Savitar tells him with a smile.

Wally refuses to beg him to stay but it's a close thing.

…

Barty wakes up when Leo slides into bed beside him. "We don't have enough bedrooms ready," he mumbles. Leo laughs at him.

"Mick and Len have shared for decades," Leo says fondly. "Frost has business tonight, so Lisa has her room for now. We'll get supplies tomorrow."

"Good," Barty breathes out, sinking back into sleep as he tucks himself against his brother.

.

In the morning, Mick makes cinnamon rolls from scratch. He doesn't mind Barty's questions (about his background, about Len and Lisa, about cooking) or that Barty sneakily samples the food at every step of the recipe (which is only in Mick's head!) or that Barty almost lightnings away with the homemade frosting.

But finally, when the cinnamon rolls are in the oven, Mick says, "Kid."

Barty stops licking the spoon and looks up at him.

"Wanna help me make a comprehensive list of everything in the pantry, fridge, freezer, and cabinets so we know what we need to get?" he asks.

"Sure," Barty says enthusiastically.

"Good," Mick grunts. "Find a pen and paper, kid, and write down everything I say."

Barty knows he could lightning his way through the task (or, at least, once he's had more practice) but Mick has a method that's fascinating to watch, and there's something about his hands as he moves stuff around—anyway, Barty writes down exactly what Mick tells him to and he actually feels _useful_ for the first time he can remember.

They've made it through both sides of the loose-leaf sheet when the cinnamon rolls need to be iced. Leo and Len pop in to grab a platter-full, then leave again; Lisa actually sits down to daintily eat hers before vanishing back upstairs.

Mick, though, tells Barty to slow down and really taste the cinnamon rolls. He quizzes Barty on the ingredients, on the order of steps in the recipe. He tells Barty stories about when he and Len were young, about Lisa as a kid.

And then, he asks, "Still wanna help me?"

"Of course!" Barty says. he grabs more paper and tracks down the pen.

.

Midmorning, Lisa and Mick leave to get supplies. Barty wants to go, but obviously he can't.

He pouts about it, though. At least, he does until Len smirks down at him on the couch and asks, "Your brother gone over your memory yet?"

"No?" Barty replies.

Len's smirk widens. "So c'mon, kid. Let's get to work."

Barty follows him to the office on the first floor, sinks into the comfy chair Len nods to, and answers the barrage of questions Len rains down on him.

It's _exhausting_ but he doesn't want to disappoint any of these people, so he does his best.

Finally, Lisa and Mick return with groceries and furniture and weapons. Barty scarfs down a dozen cinnamon rolls and when he heads for the door, Leo grabs his hand. "I'll race you in unpacking," he challenges, and Barty takes off.

…

"Guys!" Cisco shouts as one of the computers chimes. "Guys!" He flails his way to that monitor and sends the info to the big screen.

Mick Rory and Lisa Snart are blithely loading stuff into the back of a van, no license plate in view (of course) at Ikea (!?), and the facial recognition software keeps chiming as everyone in the lab hurries into the cortex. Cisco yells the address into the coms because if Kara can just get there—

"I'm here," she says after not even a minute. "But I don't see either of them, Cisco."

"That's impossible," Tracy says. "We're looking at them on the screen right now."

"It's gotta be looped, then," Felicity says, sitting down at the monitor. "Or time delayed."

Cisco sighs. Of course. Why would they start winning now?

.

Because Felicity is magic, she's able to backtrack some of Lisa and Heatwave's route. Before Ikea, they stopped at an electronics store Joe is fairly sure doubles as a weapons' smuggling ring; after, they went to Whole Foods (!?); whenever they weren't in a parking lot, no camera caught them.

"This is _impossible_ ," Felicity groans as the footage, which totals no more than five measly minutes, plays on a loop. "We're actively looking for them with every camera and satellite in this city. Not even Oliver could disappear like this!"

"Barry knows every trick we have." Iris collapses into the chair beside Cisco. "If both Snarts and Caitlin are helping Savitar…" She shrugs.

"And there's whatever Savitar learned while trapped in the very stream of time," HR adds.

Cisco isn't alone in turning to look at him but Julian is the first to ask, "What?"

HR frowns at their confusion. "Isn't that what happened? In the future, BA traps Savitar in the Speedforce. Based on everything I've learned about it—lots of reading," he laughs, "—it isn't just a windowless, doorless cage. It's a living thing, so it must be something like a, a time well."

"A time well?" Dr. Stein echoes. "Oh, dear." He exchanges a concerned glance with Ray. "Cisco, call everyone back."

Cisco hasn't seen Dr. Stein look this worried since before they found Jax, so he gets to it, trying to not think about how things can go even more wrong.

…

Everyone reconvenes; Jax, Ray, and Felicity manage to download Gideon into the STAR labs system, so Sara has her search for Barry Allen. There's no evidence that Mick, Snart, or Lisa are helping Savitar but it seems like too much of a coincidence that Savitar's appearance happened at the same time they dropped Len and Mick back in Central City. Part of the reason they suspect it now is just because Cisco apparently never turned off the alert he had for the three of them.

As Stein talks about the timeline and the Speedforce and how a speedster trapped in it could perhaps learn to control it—

"He called himself the God of Motion," Albert says suddenly, voice shaking. "Myths throughout the ages, all agree that he is faster than lightning. Even on other Earths, they have the legend—Jay Garrick told us that."

"Julian!" Iris grabs his arm and he seems to catch his breath. Calms down.

"Okay, so is this guy more than a speedster?" Nate asks. "Like Savage or Darhk?"

"Wally, Barry, and Julian are the only ones who interacted with him," West says, what's almost a laugh in his tone. "Julian can barely remember it and, and—so if he is, we just don't know."

"Okay," Oliver snaps out. "Let's get a list of everything we can expect from Savitar, Killer Frost, Barry, and whatever Snart and Rory might add to that."

"Gideon," Sara asks. "Anything yet?"

"No, Captain Lance," Gideon replies.

Sara sighs. Is it ever that easy?

So they all get into groups and list what they know, what they've personally witnessed and experienced, and what they speculate could be possible.

Finally, because no one else has, Sara takes a deep breath and asks, "Gideon? Reexamine the physical scans for Leonard Snart. Compare the newest ones to the ones from his first boarding." She catches Ray's eye, then Jax, then Stein. She really doesn't want to believe her one-time teammates could have anything to do with this Savitar, but her gut…

"I have completed the comparison, Captain Lance," Gideon announces cheerfully. Both scans are identical."

"Identical?" Stein practically yelps. "That is _utterly_ preposterous."

Sara agrees; they've all been through some shit, and even if Gideon could heal most of it, after Snart came back—no. Physically, he couldn't be the same as the Snart who first stepped onto the Waverider. Especially with the Oculus-blue scars on his arms.

"So, is Snart helping Savitar?" Ray demands. "How do they even know each other?"

"Maybe Savitar recruited them?" Cisco says. "He's from the future, so he'd know Snart was back somehow."

"What the hell is even goin' on?" Jax bursts out. "Mick wouldn't help this Savitar guy. None of this makes sense!"

"If Snart wanted to?" Sara asks quietly.

Ray, Jax, and Stein can't disagree.

"So let's assume that Snart and Rory are with Savitar for some reason," West says. "We have to be ready for anything."

"I have to echo this fine young gentleman," Wells says, nodding towards Jax. "Savitar's goal has always been opaque but what could three thieves offer him?"

"Really, HR?" Cisco scoffs. "What could three supervillain thieves offer a psychotic speedster from the future?"

"Okay, guys," Oliver says, striding to the middle of the room and whistling sharply. "We need to take a breather." He looks at Felicity then Sara. "Let's break for 15 minutes and then meet back here."

.

Sara goes to what had been Mick's room on the Waverider. "I didn't want to have to clean up your mess, Snart," she mutters. "What the fuck are you doing?"

She remembers Barry, hadn't been that impressed with him. Oliver utterly adored him, which definitely did not endear the kid to her. But after Thawne, she had to admit that she'd developed a healthy respect for speedsters. The various footage Team Flash had shown them of Savitar—

She looks around at the room that's only been empty for a few weeks, that Mick had slept in alone for months and months after Snart died. She'd never been sure if they were romantic partners, if they had been and stopped at some point, if they were platonic. Snart had been flirty and charming, and his past self joining up with Thawne, Darhk, and Merlyn had been a shock. That man was barely similar to the Snart she first knew.

Sighing, Sara slowly walks out of the room. She needs to meditate for the ten minutes she has left, try and work through all this shit. She's tempted to pack up her team and leave Central City because this really isn't their problem. But.

If Snart and Mick and Snart's sister are involved in this, in whatever Savitar's game is (and what is it, even? Team Flash haven't been able to explain anything beyond Savitar wanting to kill Iris, but if that is really his goal, he could've done it at literally any point and none of them could stop him), then it is Sara's duty to protect the timeline. Protect Earth. Because that's what heroes do. Because Snart, Oculus-blue flames on his arms, is just slightly _wrong_ now, and she knew it, and she still let him leave the ship, with Mick following behind him.

"Gideon," she murmurs, breathing slowly out. "Has the timeline changed at all?"

"No, Captain Lance," Gideon replies.

So that means that they're able to stop whatever Savitar is doing, right? So Sara and her team stay, and together they all win.

She breathes in, out. Then she rolls to her feet and heads back to the cortex.

…

Taking over Central City, Lisa is sure, shouldn't be that difficult. Len had begun laying the groundwork for a crew before he and Mick left; she'd continued working on it, building connections and alliances, earning favors, while they were gone.

She dropped it all when Mick arrived out of the blue to tell her Lenny had died. She'd caught the first flight to Vegas, intent on pulling off the heist Lenny used to entertain her with when she was little, back when he thought that telling her a detailed-enough story would distract her from the bruises on his arms, the careful way he moved.

"What's the plan, Leo?" she asks the second night in the safehouse. All of the furniture has been assembled; she and Frost (and who knew the uptight Caitlin Snow had such a badass hiding inside her? such a tantalizing woman, Killer Frost) have their own rooms while Len and Mick share, and so do Leo and Barty. Mick and Leo collaborated on delicious hamburgers for dinner and then cheesecake muffins for dessert—if this supervillain taking-over-the-world scheme fails, she'll definitely hire Leo as a personal chef (because Mick, of course, has long been claimed by Len.) Because Barty is still being _sheltered_ (Leo's term) from the reality of the situation, Lisa waits to ask 'til he's showering upstairs.

It rubbed her the wrong way, at first, the manipulation of earnest, adorable Barry Allen, the Flash. But honestly, if it's _himself_ doing it (and what a story _that_ was), and if his team wasn't good enough to keep him from being stolen…

Leo smiles at her. It's nothing like Barty's grins. She keeps herself from shuddering because she's had utter control over her body language since she was nine years old. "We still have a few pieces left to collect," he drawls. "And a few pieces to discard." He's slouched on the couch, nonchalant, without a care in the world. Frost is sitting primly at the other end of the couch.

Mick's in the armchair to the right of the couch—out of Leo's reach but close enough to move if something happens. Lisa perched herself on the armrest, taking comfort in Mick's familiar bulk.

And Len, Lisa's jerk of a big brother, is draped on the back of the couch like some gigantic cat. Just as nonchalant. Like this is any other job they've pulled together over the years.

Lisa really hates being left in the dark, and she hates being part of a crew when she's not the boss unless Len is. But it's obvious—fuck, Len _said it himself—_ that this is Leo's game, whatever the hell they're doing here, in this city Lisa almost hates sometimes but that Len has always loved.

"Pieces meanin' people," Mick rumbles.

Leo's smile becomes toothier. "You each get one veto," he announces grandly, like it's a gift from a god. "Someone from the Flash's crew, or Arrow's, or the Waverider." He pauses, looking from Lisa to Mick to Frost. "Tell me right now," he commands, leaning back against the cushion, splaying himself wide open. It should be a sign of weakness but Lisa knows, viscerally, that Leo is the most dangerous thing she's ever been near.

"Cisco," she says immediately.

Leo regally inclines his head.

"Will the people we don't choose be killed?" Mick asks.

"No," Len says. "Well, some of 'em, yeah. But not everyone."

"And you're not gonna tell us the whole plan, yeah?" Mick continues, eyes on Leo even though Lisa can tell it's directed at Len.

"'fraid not," Len says, fake apologetically. Lisa pouts but she's long been used to Len keeping his whole plan to himself. "You trust me, Mick?" he asks now. "Lisa?"

"Lenny," Lisa says as sincerely as she can because it's been true for as long as she can remember, "I've always trusted you."

"You're the boss, Lenny," Mick says. "You want me in, I'm in."

Len nods, trying to hide how happy he is. Since Mick brought him home, there've been more sappy declarations between them than in the whole decade prior, but Lisa barely finds it annoying. Len is _alive_.

"When the time is right," Len tells them, "you'll know the plan."

"The kid," Mick decides. "Jax."

Leo nods again. "Frost?" he asks.

Frost brings a hand to her lips, rubs at her face. "Julian," she says softly. "I…" She shakes her head.

"I don't need explanations," Leo says, and it sounds like he's trying to be gentle but hasn't quite mastered it yet. "Or reasons. But the three you've named are safe from me." He tilts his head to catch Len's eye and they smirk at each other.

It's actually really fucking eerie, because their smirks are identical, which shouldn't be possible.

"I'll go," Len practically purrs, leaning down to kiss Leo briefly before he swings himself off the couch. "Lisa, I missed your birthday this year due to unforeseen events, so I'll be back soon with your present." And then he just saunters out, not giving her or Mick time to say anything.

She shares a dumbfounded, annoyed glance with Mick, and Frost just looks serene yet homicidal like she always does, and Leo is still smirking like the dramatic supervillain-god he is, and then Barty bounces in and begs, with puppy eyes and everything, "Mick, can you show me how to make those cheesecake muffins? They're the best thing I can ever remember eating."

Mick laughs, pats Lisa's thigh comfortingly, and then lumbers to his feet. "Sure, kid," he says fondly and Barty trails him into the kitchen.

Lisa lets herself tumble into the armchair. Then Leo says, "You have connections with local metahumans, Ms. Snart."

"I do," Lisa agrees, rearranging herself into a comfortable yet commanding position.

"Frost has a list of all the metahumans I've already tapped and those I'm going to in the next few days. I'm sure together you'll work out something." He smirks at her, and she honestly cannot see any of Barty in him. Not even any of Barry Allen.

"I'm sure we can," Frost murmurs. "Lisa, would you prefer to go over my data tonight or tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow, I think," Lisa says. "For now, how about we get to know each other better, Frost?"

Frost smiles and tilts her head. "Join me upstairs?"

"Right behind you," Lisa purrs.

Leo's laughter follows them up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Cisco takes a deep breath, checks his gloves, adjusts his visor. He's tried vibing Barry and Caitlin multiple times without success; now he's trying to vibe Wally.

No go. Of course not. He sighs heavily. He's had a migraine for like three days now.

"Cisco?" Iris asks hesitantly, poking her head into the room. "Any luck?"

"No," he groans, letting himself fall back onto Wally's bed. "Fuck, my head."

Iris tells him, "Don't hurt yourself," and he knows she means it but Wally is her _brother_. Her brother who is _missing_. And Cisco can't even find out if he's alive.

"Is there anywhere else that Wally spends a lot of time?" Cisco asks.

"Yes!" Iris practically shouts. As Cisco flinches back in pain and shock, Iris grabs his hand and pulls him off the bed.

.

Iris has to go back to work; because they can't explain to anyone not involved what's happened, she can't take more than her lunch break. So Cisco wanders around the parking lot where Wally hangs out with other racers and follows Iris' directions to the mechanic's shop where Wally works on cars for fun.

His head is pounding so much he can barely think; he keeps stumbling over uneven pavement. But he finally _finally_ gets a flash of Wally, leaning against a wall in a dimly lit room, Wally unhurt, Wally _alive_. Cisco gasps and falls back, and when he blinks his eyes clear, Captain Cold is smirking at him from not even a foot away.

"You get more interesting every time I see you, Ramon," Snart drawls.

Cisco tries to step back and trips. So he's sprawled on the ground in front of a possibly-rehabilitated-but-probably-not supervillain who once tortured his brother.

He tries throwing energy at Snart and Snart just laughs. "My sister likes you, Ramon," he says, slowly sauntering in a circle around Cisco. "She even asked that we spare you."

"We?" Cisco echoes. "So you _are_ working with Savitar!"

Snart laughs again. It's different than Cisco remembers, from what he's heard over the com and what he's heard in person. Snart's laugh is… frightening. For some reason, it reminds Cisco of a blizzard. He wants to roll his eyes at the pun but his head hurts too much to even try standing.

"Yes, Ramon," Snart says. "I'm working with Savitar." He purrs the name. Cisco refuses to read into it.

And then, the rest of Snart's comment hits him. "Spare me?!"

Snart crouches in front of him, smirking his worst Captain Cold smirk. "You're safe, Vibe," he croons softly, reaching out to pat Cisco's cheek, "as long as Lisa wants you to be."

Fuck, Cisco's head hurts so much. "You're bleeding," Snart says. "Just rest. You're safe."

"I don't believe you," Cisco mutters. Snart actually smiles. He reaches out again—

And Cisco wakes up in a dimly lit room, identical to the one he vibed Wally in.

Plus side, though: his head doesn't hurt anymore.

Which means he can focus on exactly how much trouble he's in now.

…

"Guys," Iris shouts as she rushes into the cortex. "Guys, I can't get ahold of Cisco." Of course, everyone already knows that because she'd called each of them, going from worried to panicked over the course of the calls.

In the cortex, Felicity is searching Central City's cameras; above the city, Kara is flying and looking; on the ground in the city, Oliver and Amaya are doing the same.

Iris sinks into the chair beside Jax, her hands pressed against her mouth, trying so hard not to sob. This is a nightmare. It has to be a nightmare. Barry and Wally and Cisco—are they all going to be stolen, one by one?

"Guys," HR says as he walks in. "Anybody seen that Nate kid? I sent him for coffee an hour ago."

"He's not in the lab," Felicity says, fingers flying across the keyboard.

Iris wipes at her eyes. "Me and Jax'll check out Jitters, see if he got lost," she says, nudging Jax with her shoulder.

.

They don't talk on the way to Jitters, and not just because they're surrounded by people on the bus. Iris is sure that if she opens her mouth, all of her fears will come pouring out, and spiraling into some sort of panic attack won't help anybody. Jax either feels the same or is taking cues from her, but either way, they haven't said much since they left STAR labs.

"Did you see that?" Jax asks suddenly, grabbing Iris' hand.

"See what?" she responds, but Jax is tugging her toward the little alley behind Jitters and doesn't answer.

And then she sees it, a little beacon blinking on the brick wall, and tightens her hand around Jax's and tries dragging him away from the corner. "Jax, no," she says, "whatever it is, it isn't safe, let's get Kara to check it out, okay?"

But Jax isn't listening to her. He isn't listening, and he's stronger than her, and so she's pulled around the corner—

And there's Nate, prone on the ground, sightless eyes staring at the sky.

Iris uses her free hand to pull out her phone and her voice is steady as she tells Felicity, "Send Kara to Jitters. We found Nate."

.

According to Julian and Dad and Dr. Stein and Sara and Oliver and Kara's x-ray vision, Nate doesn't have a single wound that could've killed him. He's just… dead.

"It has to be Savitar, right?" Ray asks. "But… why?" He, Jax, and Amaya are all teary, but Sara seems resolute and Dr. Stein weary.

Iris leans close to her dad and he wraps an arm around her. "Baby girl," he whispers. "I can't lose you too. I can't."

She doesn't promise that he won't; it's a promise she has no way of keeping. This whole thing has been about killing her, for some unknowable reason, but now it's making less and less sense.

"Okay," Oliver says, clapping his hands and stepping to the middle of the room. "First, let's get a map of the city and mark all the places we've checked. Then, let's compile all the information we have." He looks around the room. "And no one goes anywhere alone."

…

Cisco carefully explores every part of the room. From what he saw in the vibe, it's definitely identical to Wally's prison with a thin mattress and a raggedy pillow in one corner, an alcove with a toilet and a sink, and a dimly-lit lamp against one of the walls.

His gloves and visor are gone, and oh, yeah, Cisco's got inhibitors on his wrists. He's pretty sure he spent nearly an hour trying to find some way to get them off, but with just one hand available to work on each—well, given enough time, he probably could eventually succeed. But he doubts he'll get enough time.

He's tried shouting at every wall but either he's in a different building than Wally or just too far away. Or, just for fun, the walls are soundproofed.

He is so thoroughly fucked.

Which, of course, is when Savitar blithely phases through the wall, with a tray of Cisco's favorite foods. "Hey, Cisco," Savitar says brightly with what's clearly trying to be one of Barry's grins.

"Whatever you're doing, it's not gonna work," Cisco spits at him.

"Believe that as long as you like," Savitar says. He casually walks over and there's nowhere for Cisco to go, so he stays sitting beside the lamp. Savitar gracefully sinks down in front of him and holds out the tray.

Cisco wants to smash the tray against his smug, scarred face. But he's hungry. And at the moment, there's nothing to gain from fighting. He doesn't know enough, doesn't have any possible advantage.

"Snart said you'll spare me," Cisco ventures, slowly reaching for the plate of tamales. "That means that the others, you're going to kill them?"

Savitar shrugs. "Some of them."

His hands are trembling. Cisco can't tell if he's more afraid or angry, but he can't afford to let either overwhelm him right now. He needs to learn everything he can, find some weakness to exploit. It hurts, but he has to assume that everyone else is dead. He can't wait for a rescue.

As he pulls the plate towards him, he ignores Savitar's smug smile and asks, "Why am I here?"

This monster isn't Barry. Nothing about them is similar at all, and Cisco refuses to think about what the fuck could've done this to his friend.

"Eat your dinner, Cisco," Savitar tells him. "Let's talk about Star Trek."

So that's Savitar's plan, then. Cisco vows, as he eats his way through three tamales that taste just like his mother's recipe, that it won't work.

It _won't_.

…

"Three down," Len murmurs, settling beside Leo on the bed. Mick and Barty are downstairs shouting at a cooking show and Frost is accompanying Lisa as she visits a jewelry store. So Leo and Len have retired upstairs to plot. It's still so new, so wondrous to have physical _bodies—these_ bodies, their first bodies—to be able to touch with warm skin, with strong hands, with teeth, leave marks they both intentionally keep so they can continue to _feel_.

"The baby speedster," Len whispers against Leo's throat, biting his way down. "The engineer. The brat who continuously disrespected Mick."

"Don't forget my beloved brother," Leo laughs, surging up so he put can Len onto his back, pin him in place to peel off his shirt.

"How could I?" Len smirks at him, relaxing into the mattress. "He's even more adorable than I remember _you_ being, Scarlet."

For that, Leo most definitely has to bite him until he bleeds while Len just smirks at him. Len, he must admit, does smirk exceptionally well.

"He wants Mick," Leo says conversationally. "You willing to share your human?"

Len reaches up to roughly grab the back of his neck, pulling him down for a pleasantly painful possessive kiss. "Are you?" he asks as they pull back for breaths they don't actually need and flipping them again.

"I'm sure we could come to an understanding," Leo says.

Len chuckles, trailing his palms along Leo's sides. "I'm sure we can."

…

Lisa and Frost return with pockets full of jewels, laughing, hanging onto each other. Barty watches as Lisa falls onto the loveseat, pulling Frost off balance enough so that she falls onto Lisa. Neither of them can stop giggling and then Barty has to laugh, too, because he's realizing he's a sympathetic laugher.

"Keep it down," Mick grumbles. "Can't hear the show over you cacklin'." He thumps Barty on the back, which actually helps Barty catch his breath.

Slowly, Frost and Lisa quiet, huddled on each other. This is the least-intimidating Frost has seemed. Barty could like the woman she is right now.

"What're we watchin'?" Lisa asks, voice still slightly hitching from laughing. She shifts until she's sprawled over Frost's lap.

"Hell's Kitchen," Barty answers. "Gordon Ramsay has made three people cry and the episode's only been on for twenty minutes."

Lisa snorts. "You figured out Mick has a crush on Ramsay?"

Barty nods, not daring to look at Mick. Lisa laughs again but softer. Mick hums and grumbles slightly, gently nudging Barty in the side. "Keep quiet, all'a ya," he orders gruffly but Barty can hear the fondness.

"You've seen this whole season more than once, babe," Lisa says. "C'mon, I got you both presents!"

"Presents?" Barty sits up, suddenly excited. He's never gotten a present before.

Lisa grins and pats the cushion next to her (though there is no actual room for him to fit beside her and Frost, not with how Lisa is stretched out). "C'mon, cutie."

Barty pushes off from the couch and, to absolutely no one's surprise, accidentally lightnings into the wall. He does successfully manage to avoid the TV, so there's that.

By the time he gets to Lisa, she's holding out a garnet pendant on a silver chain. He carefully takes it, at a loss for how to react. "Thank you," he says, "but what do I do with it?"

Lisa and Mick both laugh. "I saw it and thought of you," Lisa tells him, reaching up to gently thump his chin. "So I got it for you. Do what you want with it."

He goes back to sit next to Mick and curls up, examining the pendant. It really is pretty. "Thank you," he says again.

.

Before he goes to bed that night, Barty finds a hiding place in his room for the pendant. In the morning, before anyone else is up, he checks on it.

(He doesn't know that all of them know where it is, but no one is going to mess with it. Frost, Lisa, and Mick find it sad, how delighted he is at such a simple gift.)

.

Once again, like every day at the safehouse so far, Barty is left with Mick. He finally recognizes that he's been given essentially to a babysitter. The other four all disappear to do—presumably—important things while Barty has to stay behind for TV shows and cooking lessons. He knows it has to be bothering Mick, too, but he can't find any annoyance on Mick's face or in his tone.

So he waits in their room that evening; Len and Lisa and Frost all make it back in time for dinner, which Barty prepared all by himself, though he had frequent questions for Mick throughout the process.

It's almost midnight, when Leo finally slips into the room. He stops short when he notices Barty watching him, sitting with his back to the headboard, arms wrapped around his knees.

"What's wrong?" Leo asks quietly as he lets the door close.

"You're doing something, all of you," Barty says. He keeps his tone firm, even. "Mick's stuck babysitting me while I'm kept out of the way." He meets his brother's gaze, even though he's mostly sure he shouldn't be able to see this well in the dark. "They killed my parents, too," he continues. "Imprisoned, experimented on me, too. So why am I left out of the loop?"

Leo sighs and slowly drifts over. "Because I want to keep you safe," he admits. "I'm 20 minutes older, you know? We spent years barely getting along but then were both caught, caged. For the secret we'd hidden our whole lives."

Barty uncurls as Leo settles at the foot of the bed, crossing his legs, and keeping his gaze steadily on Barty. "They focused all the physical stuff, on me, Barty. But you got all the mindgames, the neuro tests. They cut me open to see how my organs functioned and they ripped your brain apart."

His eyes go to Leo's scars as Leo reaches up to touch them. "That's why my memory is gone?" he asks.

Leo nods. "I don't know what they were tryin' to do," he admits. "I don't know if it worked or not." He sighs and then crawls up the bed to lean against Barty. "You're still you," he murmurs. "But it's like all the pain, all the stress, it's gone. You're like that kid I remember and I just want to protect you. Is that wrong?"

"It isn't," Barty tells him. "But I'm an adult, Leo. I have this ability and I want to use it to help keep _you_ safe."

Laughing softly, Leo reaches to gently grip Barty's hand. "I'll try," he says. "But you might have to kick my ass a couple'a times."

Barty squeezes his hand. "I promise I will."

…

HR and Tracy are working on the speedforce prison (even though HR is fairly certain it won't work—but it did originally? sometimes he thinks he understands time travel but most of the time he knows he still doesn't) while everyone else does—something. Tracy's chattering on about the details of her newest equation and HR is listening avidly and, as necessary, keeping her on track when she goes off on tangents.

"Well, isn't this sweet," a voice says from the door—it sounds like BA but as he turns, HR knows it's not. BA has never sounded so cold, so scorchingly sarcastic. "Harrison Wells, Tracy Brand. Been awhile."

And there he is, Savitar. Future BA, the Darth Vader to BA's Anakin Starkiller. Black shirt and trousers, horrible scarring on his face. Leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, smirking ghoulishly, because it pulls the scars.

Tracy backs up with a gasp and HR steps in front of her. "You'll set off the alarm," HR says, "and everyone'll be here."

Savitar smirks. "You sure about that?" His gaze goes past them, to Tracy's whiteboard, to all the pieces laid out on tables. "I remember that thing," he says, pushing off the doorway and stalking into the room. "But I should thank you, Dr. Brand."

"Thank, thank me?" Tracy asks, reaching forward to grab HR's hand. They back away, circling around as Savitar moves closer.

"Yes, Dr. Brand." He's reached the table and brushes his hand along the pieces. "If you hadn't invented this device, hadn't helped Barry Allen lock me away—well." He smiles that ghoulish smile. "I wouldn't have grown, learned. I wouldn't have _become_."

Tracy's grip tightens. HR swallows heavily.

Savitar looks up at them, tilts his head. "It won't work this time, of course," he says nonchalantly. Smirks. "I spent an eternity trapped in your Speedforce prison. I'm Time itself now."

That makes no sense, but HR feels like it's just beyond his grasp. "Time itself?" he echoes. The timewell—he's mused about this for his current book, brainstormed with Tracy when she needed a break from her project. But he hadn't considered…

"Time itself," Savitar says. "But, of course, now that you've heard that…"

And he's suddenly in front of HR. "You're my favorite iteration of Harrison Wells," he tells HR. "And Tracy, you're a brilliant, innovative woman."

HR wants to hug Tracy, kiss her, hold her. Wants to say goodbye to so many people. Wants to finish all the books he's started.

"Please," he says.

…

"Oh, fuck," Sara groans, stepping back out of the room, pulling Ray with her. They're living in a horror movie, people dying one by one, and she can't stop expecting for it to be her turn. "Felicity," she says, clicking on the com while Ray covers his mouth with a hand. "Wells and Brand are dead."

"What?!" Felicity gasps. "No, the alarm didn't—" She chuckles wetly. "The footage's been wiped. I can't recover it."

Oliver, Kara, West, Iris Amaya, Jax, Stein, and Felicity all come around the corner. "There wasn't any sign at all," Felicity says, leaning into Oliver.

"Wait," Iris says. "Where's Julian?"

.

Julian's gone, just like Wally and Cisco and Barry. HR, Tracy, and Nate are dead. Tracy and HR are moved to the morgue with Nate and everyone reconvenes in the cortex.

"Well, there is relatively good news," Oliver says. When they all look at him, he shrugs. "The fact that whoever is killing us leaves bodies behind—the missing people most likely aren't dead."

"But how do we get them back?" West demands. "What the fuck is even goin' on?!"

"I've checked the entire city four times," Kara says dejectedly. "The buildings I couldn't see in, I checked in person. But there's nothing."

"Savitar is a speedster," Jax says. "Couldn't he just speed into town from somewhere else?"

Kara nods, suddenly energized. "I'll check the whole state," she says and with a whoosh, she's gone.

Sara looks at her crew, what's left of them. "Guys," she says. This is partly their problem, if Mick and Snart are involved, but with one crewmember dead, can she justify keeping them all here in harm's way? She decided to stay, but now _Nate is dead_ and any of them could be next. "We should vote," she says. "How many want to stay and help? Raise your hand."

Jax. Ray.

"And how many want to leave?" Sara asks.

Amaya slowly raises her hand. After a moment of visible indecision, so does Stein.

"You're the tiebreaker, Cap," Jax tells her. "What'll it be?"

Sara sighs slowly, heavily. She closes her eyes and wonders, _What would Laurel do?_ Laurel would determine how much of this was her fault, decide if the pros outweighed the cons, and then finalize a choice.

"We'll stay until we determine if Snart and Mick are involved," Sara says, opening her eyes. "If they are, we'll stay and help. If they're not…" She looks at West and Iris, at Oliver and Felicity. "I have to think about my crew," she explains.

Kara whooshes back into the room. "Nothing," she reports, shoulders drooping. "I don't understand how they could be hiding from me."

"Felicity," Oliver says, and Sara immediately looks at him because that's _hesitance_ in his tone.

"No, Oliver Queen," Felicity snaps. "You are _not_ sending me home to keep me safe."

"I just…" Oliver sighs. Begins to pace. Opens and closes his mouth half a dozen times. "So," he finally says. "What do we know? Savitar is Barry from the future. He wants to kill Iris but hasn't yet." Sara leans back against the counter as everyone else finally gets comfortable. Oliver continues, "Savitar, possibly with help from Caitlin, Snart, Snart's sister, and Rory, has kidnapped our Barry, Wally, Cisco, and Albert. They've also killed Nate, Wells, and Tracy." He stops and looks at West. "Why?"

"I don't know," West answers, shaking his head.

"You and Iris, you're the people who know Barry Allen the best of anyone in the world. Savitar, he hasn't killed Iris yet despite that being his main goal, so there must still be some Barry Allen in him." Iris straightens up from her slouch and West moves close to her. "What would Barry do?" Oliver asks. "Where would he go? Haven't you both known him his whole life?"

Iris and West look at each other.

"Give us locations," Felicity says. "I'll check camera footage and records and whatever else going back five years, and Kara'll check 'em in person right now."

"Safehouses," Jax pipes up. "There's a couple Mick used to talk about. Can you… can you try and track down some of his and Snart's old safehouses?"

"Yeah," Felicity says, sitting down at one of the computers. "Give me every detail you remember."

Sara steps over to gently squeeze Jax's shoulder. "Good idea," she tells him. The sooner they can prove one way or the other if Mick and Snart are involved—

She thinks they are, but she really hopes they're not. She wants what's left of her crew out of here before it's too late.

…

"You've been quite agreeable, Wallace," Savitar drawls at the end of the sixth meal. He's stayed every time to watch Wally eat, to chat like they're friends or something, and every time, Wally feels just a little bit more grateful, more _relieved_.

"So you'll let me go?" he asks, hands clasped in his lap. The shrimp scampi feels heavy in his stomach.

Savitar laughs. "No, sorry to disappoint." He sprawls back, still grinning. "But I could maybe give you a roommate."

Wally refuses to hope. "Why would you do that?" It's gotta be a trap of some kind because why the fuck would Savitar let Wally have interactions with anyone else? That has to affect the whole plan.

"Because, Wallace," Savitar says, like it's a proclamation, "I am a benevolent god."

"You're not a god," Wally snaps at him, digging his fingernails into his palms.

But Savitar just keeps smiling. "I think a roommate for a day will benefit you." His gaze drops to Wally's hands. "Wallace, you've hurt yourself." The fucker sounds _disappointed_. He reaches out to grab Wally's wrists and pulls them toward him. "Remember, only I can cause you pain."

Wally flinches as Savitar slowly drags a fingertip across the sore skin of his left palm, then his right palm. "I'll still reward you this time, but remember." He squeezes down with both hands, keeping his gaze on Wally. Wally wants to look away, wants to smash the dinner tray into his face. "I could teach you so much, if only you'd let me." He releases his grip until he's loosely holding Wally's hands. Gently runs his fingers along Wally's skin. "I don't like hurting you, you know."

"Yes, you do, you psychopath," Wally manages. He flinches again as he says it, but Savitar doesn't react at all. He just keeps looking at Wally, keeps trailing his fingers back and forth. Wally tries to focus on what he wants to say—and there's _so much_ — but he can't think past the touch, the drag of Savitar's skin against his.

" _Please_ ," he finally cries, but he doesn't move.

Savitar's smile widens and he drops his hands, letting Wally go. Wally keeps his hands up for a long moment and then slowly brings them down.

"I'll see you soon, Wallace," Savitar says, and he stands, and he grabs the dishes, and he leaves.

Wally finally exhales and collapses back against the wall. "Fuck," he mutters, glaring at the ceiling.

Six meals. Is that six days? Are they still looking for him?

Are they even still alive?

No. He can't think like that. They _are_ alive. They _are_ looking for him. They _will_ find him. They _will_.

.

Wally wakes up and Julian Albert is lying on the floor directly across from him. "Julian?" he asks blankly.

Julian doesn't stir, so Wally slowly rises to his feet and hesitantly approaches. Once he reaches Julian, he crouches to poke Julian's shoulder.

When Julian finally responds, he flails, nearly hitting Wally in the face as he sits up and lunges back. "What the bloody hell is goin' on? Where am I?"

"I don't know," Wally answers with a desperate laugh. "And I don't know."

"Wally?" Julian asks after a moment, slowly standing.

"Yeah," Wally sighs before rising to his feet. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was at STAR labs," Julian says. "Amaya was my partner and she was helping me tidy the infirmary."

"Partner?" Julian wavers slightly so Wally reaches out to steady him.

"We had to pair up," Julian explains. "No one was to go anywhere alone." He scoffs and mutters, "That worked out wonderfully." He turns to face Wally. "Tell me everything that's happened."

Wally steps forward to grab Julian's arm. "Sorry," he says. "I just… are you really here?"

Julian stops pulling away. Instead, he actually steps closer. "Wally," he says. "Let's sit against the wall, yeah, mate?" He guides Wally down and then settles beside him, pressing so that they're touching from their shoulders to their calves.

"Tell me," Julian says softly.

Wally leans into him.

This isn't a reward at all, he realizes. Just another way to break him.

He breathes out and starts talking.

…

 _how exactly are you going to explain this to your darling brother?_ Time asks Time. _he's such a good boy._

Time rolls his eyes. _guess I'll need help from your silver tongue._

Laughing, Time nudges Time. _frost and lisa have made contact with some of the metas. How involved should we be?_

Time chuckles, pressing close to nibble at Time's lip. _shouldn't Captain Cold be taking our city now?_

Time smirks, settling back against the cushion as Time swings over to straddle Time. _why, Scarlet_ , Time purrs. _I thought you'd never ask._

…

Captain Cold's return to Central City is loud, messy, and impossible to miss.

"Well, fuck," Sara sighs.

.

Kara, Oliver, and Amaya search every location Iris, West, and Felicity mention. With Jax's description, Felicity finds four possible safe houses which are also searched.

Nothing. Of course. Plus side: four days where nobody goes missing or dies.

Negative: it's determined pretty conclusively that Snart is definitely working with Savitar. Jax is the only person still arguing about it.

The first target that Snart hits is the CCPD police force, every precinct in the city at the same time. Teams of three metas working together stage the attacks. Miraculously, nobody dies.

Sara shakes her head at the news reports. There was nothing miraculous about it. It's a power play: mass injuries but no deaths, all because Snart wanted it that way. And Snart claims responsibility on camera, announcing grandly, "Central City, did you miss me? Captain Cold has come home." He laughs, removing his goggles to gaze into the camera, those eyes of his bluer and colder than Sara remembers. "Civilians, keep to yourselves and you'll be safe."

Mick steps into frame, dressed in some hybrid of his Heatwave outfit and what he wore on the Waverider. "Can't be a king without people to rule," he rumbles.

Snart laughs again and Sara shivers. Blue light flares in the pupils of his eyes and the screen goes dark.

"The metas that attacked," West says as he stalks into the cortex. "Every one of them disappeared from Iron Heights last night without a single alarm raised."

"So they're working together," Oliver says. "Savitar and Snart."

Jax doesn't argue. Sara pats him on the arm.

"Felicity, pull up all of Iron Heights' cameras, let's see what we find," West orders.

Twelve days since they answered Felicity's call for help, and even though Sara's decided to stay and see this through, she really fucking wishes she hadn't answered that call.

…

On the thirteenth day since this horrible mess started, Kara gets a text from Alex on the phone Cisco engineered for her and she, almost shamefully, tells everyone that she has go home. Without Cisco or a speedster, it takes almost a day to get a portal open and Kara apologizes the whole time. "If my Earth wasn't in danger of total destruction, I'd stay," she tells Felicity, who's busy communicating with Winn through Kara's phone. "I don't want to leave before we save Barry and everyone."

"It's okay," Felicity assures her for the hundredth time. "Go take care of your planet." She, Dr. Stein, Ray, and Winn finally get a portal open, so Kara goes home.

When the portal closes, Felicity looks at Oliver. "Now what?" she asks. "It's been two weeks and all we've got are dead and missing friends." Oliver walks over to envelop her in his arms. "It's been _two weeks_ and we're worse off now than when we got here." She doesn't know if her tears are from fury or frustration or fear but she can't stop them.

"Is this a bad time?" a mocking voice asks from behind them.

All at once, Firestorm merges, Amaya calls on an elephant, Sara and Oliver go for their weapons, Joe draws his gun, Ray pulls on his suit, Iris grabs a gun apparently hidden in a drawer, and Felicity picks up a keyboard to hold like a baseball bat.

Felicity has watched the footage, listened to the stories. But to _see_ Savitar in the flesh, to _see_ how very different he is from the Barry Allen she loves—how _frightening_ he is.

"Oliver Queen," Savitar says. "It's been a very long time." His eyes flick to Felicity. "Hey, Felicity." He grins and she nearly starts crying again. He doesn't stand like Barry, or talk like Barry, or look anything like Barry at all except for half his face. As he glances around the room, he wears an expression she can't imagine ever crossing Barry's face, all clinical and cold and dissecting. She tries to shove it all away, how much his existence just _hurts_.

He names them all, one by one. He names them all with that macabre smile on his face.

"What do you want?" Oliver asks and immediately after, Joe snarls, "Where are my sons?!"

Savitar just keeps smiling. "Well, one of 'em is right here, Joe," he says. "Except, oh, right. I stopped being your son the moment I failed to die." He looks at Joe and stops smiling.

"The ones you've taken," Felicity asks, trying to distract Savitar so that Joe doesn't get murdered right here and now, "are they okay?"

He smirks, shifting his gaze to her. "Define _okay_."

"Is Barry alive?" Iris demands, stepping beside her father. "Is Wally?"

"Why Iris," he says, pressing a hand to his chest, affecting a wounded tone. "Would I ever hurt my brothers?"

"Yes." Iris' voice is firm and angry but her hands tremble around the gun.

Savitar raises his unscarred eyebrow. "What do any of you hope to gain?" he asks. If Barry had been the one asking, she'd call it honest curiosity but she can't believe anything Savitar does. "White Canary, what is your team even doing here?" He looks at Sara, tilting his head with that smirk back on his face.

Seriously. Does the guy do anything that isn't smirky?

"We're here for Snart and Mick," Sara tells him sharply, body tensed to strike.

He laughs, sinister and cold. "They're not your crew anymore. Are you so eager to lose more of your _actual_ crew?"

Firestorm asks, "So you killed Nate? HR and Tracy? Is Mick really working with you?" It's all Jax. He's just a kid who shouldn't even be involved in this mess.

"No," Savitar answers. "Yes. And yes."

"But why?" Firestorm steps forward, flames wreathing around them. "What is going on here, Barry?"

Savitar _winces_. Felicity almost believes he's sincere. "I'm not Barry," he says, gaze going from Jax to Iris and then he focuses on Joe. "Haven't been in longer than any of you could comprehend."

"You're an insane self-proclaimed god, Savitar," Iris grits out. "I didn't believe it until I saw the footage of you kidnapping Barry." Her hands aren't trembling anymore. "But Wally. Cisco and Julian. Killing HR and Tracy and Nate. Why?" Savitar stays silent, gaze flicking around the room. "I understand taking Barry," Iris says desperately, stepping forward. "Keeping him safe protects you. But nothing else you've done makes sense."

"I'm not gonna monologue at you, Iris," he tells her, amused. "But Felicity," he continues, eyes going to her. "Remember all those backup files you made?" He brings a hand to his head and taps a finger to his temple.

Felicity gasps because every precaution they've ever made, Savitar would know. They've been scrambling for new ideas, new plans, but she's been so focused on _now_ , on _tomorrow_ —

"I'm a speedster," he says conversationally. "I'm _the_ speedster, the God of Motion. None of you have any idea what that truly means."

Felicity turns and collapses into a chair, begins frantically tearing into the systems she knows backwards and forwards.

It's all gone. Everything. STAR labs is wiped clean. She checks her backdoor into her home system and it's gone.

"Why?" she sobs. Oliver is at her side but doesn't lower his bow, still pointed at Savitar.

"Because you're dangerous, Felicity," Savitar says. "Given time, you'll be able to rewrite it."

Ray, Sara, and Oliver move so they're between her and Savitar. "Oh," he laughs, this supervillain who is _nothing_ like her friend. "Don't worry, guys, that wasn't a threat." He grins, meets Felicity's eyes, and vanishes away in a flash of lightning.

She falls against Oliver, sobbing so hard she can't breathe.

.

Hours pass before Felicity calms enough to think again. She spends the night searching for years and years of her life, programs and databases she'd created and nurtured. There should be _something_ she can salvage but there's nothing.

Finally, Sara asks, "Gideon, why didn't you tell us Savitar was fuckin' with the computers?"

Gideon chirps, "Barry Allen created me, Captain Lance."

Felicity's stomach drops.

…

"Lenny," Lisa pouts, plopping down beside him on the couch.

Her big brother sighs. "Can I help you, trainwreck?" He lowers his novel to stare at her.

She makes her eyes big, curls into him. "You owe me a present, Lenny."

He sighs again. "It's not quite ready, sis."

"But I want it now," she whines, like she did when she was little, when he caved so easily. It worked better then but she can see his resolve wavering. "Please?"

"I'm in the process of giving you an entire city," he grouses, closing his book.

"But that's for all of us," she argues.

Yet again, Len sighs, this time far more heavily. "Fine," he mutters, setting the book aside.

Lisa claps her hands and throws her arms around him, and though he stiffens for a moment, he then chuckles and hugs her back.

.

She hesitates when Len opens a door she'd never noticed before. But he turns his head to look at her and holds out his hand.

Blue light streaks up his arm; her eyes follow the light and meets his eyes. _What are you, Lenny?_ she thinks. She won't ask. What he is now is still her big brother.

Lisa takes Len's hand. He guides her down the stairs she had no idea were there.

.

There's an entire building below the safehouse. A hallway branches in two directions; the walls are blank, almost unfinished, the floor silent beneath her shoes. Len turns them down the left branch and offers to drop her hand but she clings to him.

"The baby speedster," Len murmurs, nodding to a stretch of wall. "The British scientist," nodding to another. Then he steps in front of a third part of the wall. "Your engineer." Len turns to face her and says, serious, solemn, "There are rules, Lisa."

She lets go of his hand. "What is going on, Lenny?" she demands. " _Solitary confinement?_ We let those metas go because the Flash was throwing people into his own private prison!" She can't believe Len would do this.

"Leo visits each of them every day," Len tells her. "They have a medium-sized room with a bed, toilet, and lamp. Leo feeds them the same food we eat."

She pulls away from him. "What is going on?" she repeats, feeling sick to her stomach. Her brother wouldn't—

"You wanted Ramon to live," Len snaps. "He's too dangerous to be out there against us, so Leo is flipping him, him and the others." He points to the wall where he claims Cisco is jailed. "If Leo can't get him on our side, drastic measures _will_ be taken."

"Leonard," she says, dropping all masks. "Tell me. What is the point of all this? What are you and Savitar doing here?"

He looks at her. They stand in silence as Len studies her face. Then he says, "I died, Lisa. I fragmented through Time itself and Savitar, he caught me. Pieced me back together. You could never understand how long he and I existed there, two halves of the same whole." He holds his hand up and the blue light flares on his skin. "The Oculus consumed me. Created me. Savitar, Leo—he is Time itself."

She breathes deeply, slowly, and realizes, "So are you."

He smiles at her, blue flaring in his eyes. "You and Mick, you never left me. I held to you both." He lowers his hand. "Can you trust me? Will you stay?"

She inhales, exhales. Looks down at her own hands. Lenny died. But he's back, alive and whole, and still Len. Mostly.

"I trust you, Lenny," she tells him. "And of course I'll stay. Can I trust any of the rest of 'em to watch your back?"

He chuckles slightly. "Of course," he agrees. He nods towards the wall. "Do you want to go back upstairs or see him?"

"I want to see Cisco," she says. Then she hesitates and asks, "Would it hurt whatever Leo is doing? I don't want to be the reason Cisco dies."

"Cisco hasn't been fed today," Len says. "Wanna bring it to him?"

"Lenny." She makes sure to look him right in the yes. "What are the chances Savitar will kill Cisco?" She watches as he runs through calculations in his head, considering and discarding possibilities. He's terrifyingly smart, her big brother. She's no slouch herself but Len—he's the smartest person she knows.

"We've had him for five days, give or take," Len muses. "More for him." Lisa tilts her head so Len says, "Time field, don't worry 'bout it, sis."

Time field? Whatever. She'll ponder that later.

"For him, it's been almost two weeks," Len continues. "He's only seen Leo, only interacted with Leo." Lisa frowns. "This is Leo's game," Len says. "Remember that. His game, his rules. You and Mick, you're the only ones who can't be touched."

She has to hug him for that. And he says, "I put it at a 20% chance Leo will get rid of Cisco. You goin' in won't make it worse."

Lisa nods. "Then I'm gonna make him dinner and bring it to him."

Smiling, Len presses a quick kiss to her cheek. "Then let's go back upstairs."

…

"I need your help, Barty," you tell your brother.

He is so earnest, this boy, this brother. He gazes at you with excitement, with sincerity. He listens, and he asks clever questions, and he vows to do everything he can.

Barty is a masterpiece. Of everything you've created—

"They'll try to get in your head," you warn him.

"I won't let them," Barty promises.

So you nod and you smile and you lead him to the dining room, where Frost and Mick are waiting with food. It's only a few minutes before Len and Lisa take their places, and Lisa catches your eye. She's more settled in her skin. She'll be seeing Cisco later, with this food she prepared.

 _Cold_ , you whisper. _the engineer is in your charge now._

 _I'll take care of him, Scarlet_ , Len assures you.

Barty elbows you with a laugh so you elbow him back with a laugh of your own.


End file.
